Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 190 You can surrender if you think it's dirty
The two teams charged headlong into the desert. Chen Jiang and his men had no choice but to go in, because there was still a chance of escape. If they stopped to resist, it would be absolutely impossible for them to deal with hundreds of pursuers.

The pursuing force was a whole company. If the company commander didn't achieve any results and couldn't be promoted to deputy battalion commander, he would soon be of retirement age. In order to stay in the military a little longer, he wanted to give it his all!
They were betting that Chen Jiang and his men wouldn't dare to go any further and would surrender.

In his mind, surrendering was shameful, but it was better than losing his life, right? Especially after they discovered that there was a female soldier (who they didn't know was an officer) in the enemy's ranks, it became even less likely that they would charge in.

Even if they catch just one of them, it would be considered a remarkable achievement.

After all, the Blue Army had been badly let down by this small group of enemies, and Commander S of the command post even declared, "If we can capture them alive, we will report them as heroes! Even if we kill them, we will still receive a commendation."

If you can achieve merit, who cares about praise?
So no one was willing to fire their guns, otherwise how would Chen Jiang and the others have had a chance to run inside?
But as they continued the chase, they began to sense that something was amiss.

why,
Because the other side showed no intention of stopping at all. Are these people crazy? Don't they know how terrifying the depths of the desert are?
The two sides remained deadlocked and continued to venture deeper into the area. Chen Jiang's team had developed serious disagreements. Tang Xinyi believed that they could not go any further; if they went any deeper, they would all be doomed.

They used to have chariots, but now they have nothing, and the little water they carry won't last long.

Moreover, there are sandstorms in the desert, and they have no protective gear.

It's not too late to turn back now; we haven't gone too far yet.

But He Chenguang insisted on going inside. If he didn't, he would be captured. He would rather die than be a prisoner, even if it was just an exercise, because it would be a disgrace for a soldier.

Chen Jiang didn't want to go in either. If something happened to He Chenguang, his grandfather would probably skin him alive. Besides, there were female comrades with them. If they went in like this, they weren't superheroes; someone would definitely die.

"We can't go any further, or we'll all be trapped here." Chen Jiang glanced at the compass in his pocket, checked the map, and realized they had strayed quite far off course. Most importantly, Chen Jiang could no longer see the pursuers behind them.

"The Blue Army's pursuers have most likely given up and retreated, but we can't go back the way we came. If I were their commander, I'd be waiting at the nearest pass. So we have to go along the area near the windbreak forest, and once we've gone a bit further, we'll find a chance to leave this godforsaken place!"

Although He Chenguang was reluctant, Chen Jiang's words were an order, and he had to obey.

He was actually exhausted.

Following the directions of the compass, the group trudged on with difficulty, having already drunk all the water in their canteens.

Everyone's throats were parched, but if they didn't get away, they wouldn't escape the Blue Team's pursuit.

Walking in the desert is extremely tiring, especially in terms of water consumption. I just drank a few sips of water, and it evaporated as sweat in an instant.

"Is there any more water?" Tang Xinyi was so thirsty that her lips were blistered.

Chen Jiang shook his head. The little water left in his military water bottle had already been drunk by one of the soldiers.

"Battalion Commander, his condition is very bad; he may have heatstroke," Wang Yanbing shouted.

Chen Jiang ran over and saw that the soldier was indeed suffering from heatstroke. The best way to deal with heatstroke is to move him to a shady place and then replenish his fluids.

But now there are no such conditions at all; there isn't even a trace of green in the desert, only endless yellow sand.

"Head towards the sand control forest! Quick! Give him some Ren Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine for treating sandstorms), then everyone take turns carrying him."

Chen Jiang took some Ren Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine) from his backpack and gave it to the soldier, then applied some cooling balm to both sides of his temples.

The rest is up to God.

Chen Jiang took the lead and carried him on his back, with the others following closely behind.

Walking in the desert is like looking at a mountain and running yourself ragged; it may look close on the map, but it's really tough to walk there.

Each person could only carry him for a short distance. Chen Jiang and He Chenguang had the best physical strength, so they carried him for a longer distance.

Later on, Tang Xinyi was also unable to continue, and Chen Jiang could only have He Chenguang carry her. However, Tang Xinyi was very strong-willed and initially refused, only allowing He Chenguang to help her walk.

"Commander, there seem to be people ahead!"

Li Erniu shouted.

With the system's enhancement, Chen Jiang's eyesight was much stronger, and he immediately saw the details of those black dots.

Wang Yanbing picked up the binoculars and took a look.
"They look like the forest rangers. We're saved."

Seeing hope, everyone quickened their pace.

Finally, the other side spotted them, and after rushing towards each other, they finally met up.

"Oh my, you came all the way from the desert?"

"No." Chen Jiang smiled and then gave a brief explanation, telling them that he was participating in an exercise and had taken a trip in the desert.

The forest rangers were extremely surprised, and the man in charge especially revered Chen Jiang and his companions as if they were gods.

“We usually don’t dare to go deep into there because there are sandstorms from time to time. You guys are incredibly lucky that you didn’t encounter a sandstorm.”

Chen Jiang had no energy to chat with them and hurriedly asked if there was any water, as he had heatstroke.

The other party immediately handed over several water bottles. Chen Jiang let the wounded drink first, and then they also drank until they were about five or six tenths full.

After discussing it, they decided to let the other soldiers stay behind to take care of the wounded, while he, He Chenguang, Wang Yanbing, and Li Erniu continued on their way back to find a place to contact the command post.

Tang Xinyi resolutely refused to leave, but Chen Jiang finally agreed to take her with him after seeing that she had indeed improved a lot after resting for a while.

The forest rangers assured them that they would definitely take these comrades to the nearest hospital for treatment.

Not only that, they also provided a tractor and took Chen Jiang and his group to the nearest highway. After much difficulty, they found a small roadside shop, and Chen Jiang finally managed to contact the 702nd Regiment by making a landline call.

Gao Cheng answered the phone. He was very happy, especially after learning that Chen Jiang and his men had actually broken through the encirclement. As for the wounded, the regiment would take them in.

Although Jiang Fahui and the main force of the Seventh Company suffered some losses, they were able to rejoin their unit with the support of the Red Army's vanguard.

Chen Jiang inquired about the overall situation of the Red Army, and Gao Cheng gave a brief introduction. From the phone call, it was clear that the Red Army's offensive was fierce, and the Blue Army was retreating steadily. With half of the exercise time already passed, it seemed that the Blue Army was doomed to lose.

However, Chen Jiang had a bad feeling, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. Besides, Gao Cheng was in high spirits, so how could he possibly dampen his enthusiasm?
"Chen Jiang, tell me your location, and I'll send someone to pick you up!" Gao Cheng said excitedly. "The regiment has prepared a celebration banquet for you; we'll drink until we drop."

"Chen Jiang, don't say it directly. The Blue Army might have phone tapping technology. If we attract the pursuers, we'll be in trouble. Our people haven't even reached this point yet," Tang Xinyi, an expert in this area, immediately warned.

Chen Jiang found this very reasonable and quickly explained to Gao Cheng that they would find a way to return to the team themselves and wouldn't trouble the regiment. On the vast grassland, the best way to get back by car was to hitchhike.

Fortunately, Chen Jiang and his men were in military uniform, and a passing cargo truck saw them waving and immediately stopped.

"Brother, give us a ride!" Chen Jiang told him the direction he wanted to go.

The driver, upon hearing that it seemed to be on his way, readily agreed.

Everyone was excited about rejoining the team, so they chatted with the driver for a while on the bus.

The driver was a cargo driver, so he was quite knowledgeable. When Chen Jiang heard him say that he had seen a lot of tanks gathered on the way here, his heart skipped a beat.

Logically speaking, the Red Army's armored forces had not yet arrived here, so the tanks the driver saw were most likely those of the Blue Army.

Didn't they retreat because of insufficient fuel?

Chen Jiang suddenly had a very bad idea.

That means the Blue Army may have used its spare fuel, its armored units have been replenished, and it is waiting for the Red Army to break in. Meanwhile, the Red Army units are all marching frantically and have no idea what dangers they might be facing.
Thinking of this, he could no longer stay, so he told the driver to let everyone get off the bus in a small town ahead.

"What's wrong, Battalion Commander?"

He Chenguang sensed that Chen Jiang's actions were somewhat off.

Chen Jiang recounted his analysis without any reservations. As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Yanbing and the others immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.
"If that's the case, then the Red Army is in danger! This could very well be a trap!"

"Yeah, we have to do something. They have backup oil depots? Shall we go and blast them again?"

After hearing this, Chen Jiang gave a wry smile. "The Blue Army commander isn't stupid. This kind of thing can only happen once. This time they must have taken strict precautions. The most crucial point is that we don't even know where the backup oil depot is. There's no time to go and scout it out."

"Then what should we do?" He Chenguang had complete confidence in Chen Jiang. Since the battalion commander had said so, he probably had his own considerations.

But this time he had indeed overestimated Chen Jiang; Chen Jiang racked his brains but couldn't come up with any good solutions.

He shrugged. "Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it."

"We still need to tell the regimental commander, so they can at least be prepared!" Chen Jiang's hand gripping the phone receiver was bulging with veins.

He dialed the regimental headquarters three times before finally getting through, but the officer who answered the phone told him that Gao Cheng had already led the Third Battalion to meet them.

"Impossible!" Chen Jiang slammed his fist on the counter. "We didn't send you any coordinates!"

Chen Jiang shouted into the microphone, warning the Red Army to pay attention to the Blue Army's movements, as there might be a trap ahead.

Tang Xinyi suddenly snatched the receiver and hung up the phone immediately.

"What's wrong?" Chen Jiang and the others looked bewildered.

"The phone you made might not even be from the team. This place is probably being tapped. It seems the Blue Team has some capable people too," Tang Xinyi calmly assessed.

Wang Yanbing rushed in from outside, his face ashen: "There's a Blue Army reconnaissance vehicle at the town entrance! The forest ranger on the tractor is giving them directions!"

He Chenguang yanked the curtains shut: "Damn it, we've been tricked!"

Chen Jiang's pupils suddenly contracted. Now everything made sense—why the forest rangers would "just happen" to appear on the edge of the Death Desert, and why the tractor would head straight for this small town.

They were on the Blues' tactical chessboard from beginning to end!

“We’ve become living beacons.” Chen Jiang laughed angrily. “The Blue Army deliberately let us call for help, just waiting to use our communications to pinpoint the location of the Red Army’s command post.”

Li Erniu suddenly burst in through the back door, carrying several sets of work clothes stained with engine oil: "Quickly change into these! If we can't force our way in, we should retreat first!"

Five minutes later, when the Blue Army special forces kicked open the door of the post office, they found only five half-empty cups of tea on the table.

There was also a note on it: "We hope you will keep our discarded equipment safe. It will be your talisman after we wipe you out."

"Heh." The captain leading the team crumpled the note into a ball. "These five mice are interesting."

Chen Jiang and the others changed into work clothes and had already sneaked into a nearby corner.

On the streets of the small town, the Blue Army had blocked off the main intersections, and several soldiers were checking people one by one.

"What do we do now?" Wang Yanbing asked in a low voice. "We can't just sit here and wait to die, can we?"

Chen Jiang glanced around and suddenly noticed a truck loaded with goods parked not far away, with the driver leaning against the truck smoking.

“I’ve got an idea,” he whispered. “Let’s get on that truck and get out of this hellhole first.”

Tang Xinyi frowned: "But what if the driver is a member of the Blue Army?"

“Of course we can’t go to the driver’s seat,” Chen Jiang said with a wicked grin. “The back is filled with dried manure. As long as you don’t mind the dirt, the Blue Army probably won’t check it.”

"What? Are you crazy?" Tang Xinyi's face paled. She actually wanted to crawl into a pile of dung?

"You think it's dirty? Then you can surrender. The Blue Army treats prisoners well and will give you good food and drink." Chen Jiang smiled slightly.

"Hmph, don't look down on me. What you can do, I can do too!"

The group approached the truck silently and then crawled inside one by one. Although the dried manure had been dried in the sun, the smell was still overwhelming.

Even though everyone took out gas masks and put them on, they were still disgusted.

Fortunately, the truck didn't have to wait too long. The driver finished his cigarette and drove off. When they reached the intersection, Lan Jun carefully checked the driver's documents.

They originally wanted to get on the vehicle to inspect it, but the dried excrement was piled up like a small mountain, and they found it extremely smelly just by getting close. Could five living people be hidden in there?
impossible?

After a quick look around, he waved his hand, letting the annoying truck go.

(End of this chapter)