Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 265 What kind of crime is this? Do you know?
The couple's reunion amidst the ruins required little verbal communication; a long, lingering gaze was enough for them to understand each other's unspoken words.

This is a little unspoken understanding between the two.

Finally, the two of them rushed forward and embraced each other tightly.

After a long while, they let go, looked at each other, and smiled.

Chu Ning quickly checked him for any injuries.

"I'm fine. Don't you know my skills? Aside from a few superficial wounds, I'm completely unharmed." Chen Jiang held her hand and asked gently, "Why are you here? Where's the baby?"

"I left it to Mom. You, a section chief from the General Armament Department, left a message and came here. As a doctor, how could I not come?" Chu Ning said, feigning reproach.

Seeing the medical team moving forward, Chu Ning abandoned her sentimental attachments.
"Take care of yourself, I'm going with the medical team."

"Okay, our destination is the playground of that elementary school up ahead." Chen Jiang didn't mention making a phone call, as there was no signal here.

Chu Ning nodded, immediately picked up his medical kit, and quickly left with the group.

As Chen Jiang watched his wife's resolute back, he was filled with mixed emotions, including worry and an indescribable sense of pride.

This is his wife, who, like him, will not hesitate to step forward when the people need her.

With the influx of professional rescue forces and a large amount of supplies, the efficiency and order of disaster relief work have been significantly improved.

Field hospitals were quickly set up, and seriously wounded soldiers received timely surgery and treatment.

Heavy machinery began clearing the main road to open up a lifeline for deeper rescue efforts;

With the distribution points established, the disaster victims were finally able to eat hot meals and drink clean drinking water every day.

The role of Team A, led by Chen Jiang and Yuan Lang, has also changed at this time.

They gradually transformed from the initial main force of rescue into an elite force that cooperates with professional teams to carry out precise attacks and hazard investigations.

With their outstanding military skills and rich experience, they have repeatedly ventured into the dangerous areas of large collapsed structures to locate survivors, provide guidance for heavy machinery operations, and handle multiple secondary disaster hazards caused by aftershocks.

Finally, with the infrastructure teams gradually arriving, Chen Jiang and his advance team successfully completed their mission.

Order and supplies in the earthquake zone have basically returned to normal, so there is no need for them to stay any longer.

Chu Ning and her group needed to stay a little longer, but Chen Jiang and his group received orders to go to the nearest airport to return to their base.

This earthquake relief effort cost them some of their comrades-in-arms, but they also gained the deep affection of the people in the disaster area. As they left in military vehicles, the temporary roads cleared were lined with people from all walks of life who came to see them off.

People stood silently, and although everyone was destitute after the disaster, they still held boiled eggs, steamed buns, or simple flower wreaths in their hands and kept stuffing them into the hands of the soldiers who were about to leave.

There were no loud slogans, only repeated "goodbye" and "take care." This profound friendship, forged in the face of disaster, is more unforgettable than any grand celebration.

Chen Jiang and Yuan Lang were the last to board the vehicle, and they solemnly saluted the crowd with a long military salute.

The soldiers also stood up and cast equally solemn glances out the window.

The car drove very slowly until it left the disaster area and entered a relatively intact road, at which point the somber atmosphere eased slightly.

The carriage was completely silent; no one spoke.

Everyone was still immersed in the farewell scene they had just witnessed, as well as the life-or-death trials they had experienced in the past few days.

The images of his fallen comrades, the desperate gazes of those struggling to survive beneath the rubble, the tears on the faces of the rescued, and the beautiful figure of his wife, Chu Ning, flashed through Chen Jiang's mind.

Yuan Lang handed Chen Jiang a cigarette, which he took, lit, and took a deep drag.

The acrid smoke, when inhaled, brought a sense of comfort.

“We’re back,” Yuan Lang said, his voice a little hoarse. “Chen Jiang, do you think we’ve completed our mission?”

Chen Jiang gazed at the rapidly receding, still devastated scenery outside the window, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke: "We saved some, but we also lost some. The mission wasn't completed perfectly; we can only say that we did our best."

Yuan Lang sighed and nodded.

They all understood that in the face of natural disasters, an individual's strength is ultimately limited.

After several hours of bumpy travel, the military vehicles arrived at the military airfield.

The transport plane was already waiting on the runway.

Before boarding the plane, Chen Jiang subconsciously turned around and glanced once more at that land that had once been ravaged and was now struggling to recover.

He knew that his wife was still fighting there.

The massive Il-76 transport plane roared into the sky, carrying the exhausted but determined soldiers away from this land. Inside the cabin, most of the soldiers quickly fell into a deep sleep, their snores filling the air.

The continuous high-intensity battles had left them exhausted, and now they were falling asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Chen Jiang and Yuan Lang, however, were wide awake.

They leaned against each other, looking through the porthole at the outline of the land below, which gradually shrank and was eventually obscured by the clouds, their minds filled with countless thoughts.

"Those who survive will be rewarded for their merits! Those who sacrificed their lives must be properly resettled; we cannot let our heroes shed blood and tears."

"Chen Jiang, don't worry, I will definitely handle this matter properly!" Yuan Lang's eyes reddened.

At that moment, he thought of his comrades-in-arms who had fought alongside him through thick and thin, and their families. The scene when the notices were delivered to them was heartbreaking to recall.

A few hours later, the plane landed smoothly.

The familiar air and setting gave everyone a feeling of being in another world.

The military arranged a simple return ceremony and announced that all personnel involved in the disaster relief efforts would be given a three-day leave.

Chen Jiang didn't linger and rushed home immediately.

My mother-in-law was at home with the child. When the child saw his father, he cheered and rushed over to him.

Chen Jiang picked up his son and felt the heavy weight in his arms. His heart, which had been hardened like iron in the disaster area, softened instantly.

"Daddy, where's Mommy?" the child asked, hugging his neck.

“Mom is still helping people who need help more, and she’ll be back in a few days.” Chen Jiang kissed his son’s tender cheek.

After washing away the dust and fatigue at home and changing into clean military uniform, Chen Jiang did not feel completely relaxed.

Half of his thoughts were still with the earthquake zone thousands of miles away, with that figure in a white coat, hurrying along. During his rare three-day holiday, he practically canceled all work, spending his days picking up and dropping off his son, helping him with his homework, and incidentally helping his mother-in-law with household chores.

Chen Gang is already in kindergarten. Nowadays, kindergartens are getting too busy, and they're starting to teach him numbers at such a young age. As a college student from a prestigious 985 university, tutoring him is a piece of cake for him. But what drives him crazy the most are the parent-child assignments, such as leaf paintings and craft presentations.

These assignments aren't the son's homework at all; they're clearly "parents' homework" designed to test their fathers' connections.

As Chen Jiang patiently helped his son apply glue to the back of the leaves, he smiled wryly to himself: compared to disaster relief, this meticulous handiwork seemed to test one's patience and composure even more.

Watching the father and son working diligently, the mother-in-law couldn't help but laugh and said, "Ningning usually does all this. Now you know how hard it is for her, don't you?"

These words were like a pebble thrown into Chen Jiang's heart, creating ripples that spread outwards.

Yes, his wife is not only a warrior on the front line of saving lives, but also silently shoulders so much on the ordinary battlefield of the family, while he is wholeheartedly pursuing his career.

He and Chu Ning could only communicate briefly through the occasional, intermittent communication signals that were restored.

Every time Chen Jiang sees the brief message "All is well, don't worry" or "Another successful surgery" on the screen, he feels a sense of reassurance.

The image of Chu Ning patiently helping her son with crafts under the lamp flashed in his mind. Her gentleness and resilience filled him with a mix of guilt and emotion.

The three-day holiday passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Jiang returned to his unit, and Yuan Lang had already submitted the disaster relief summary he had prepared. The requirements were simple: the fallen comrades should be posthumously awarded honors, and the surviving soldiers should also receive the recognition they deserved.

Ultimately, the higher authorities decided to grant several second-class and third-class merits, and then posthumously award honors to all the fallen comrades.

Chen Jiang and Yuan Lang gave up their already limited honors. Although many people went out, it was impossible for everyone to be recognized and rewarded. There was no way around it.

Among the list of those who sacrificed their lives, Chen Jiang saw a familiar name: Cheng Haibo.

This person was Chen Jiang's roommate when he first joined the A Brigade. They worked together on several subsequent operations. Chen Jiang remembered that he was promoted to officer in the army and had performed exceptionally well.

If he hadn't been so determined to join the special forces, he probably could have stood out even in a regular military unit.

He volunteered to go to the disaster area, but unfortunately, he lost contact when he jumped because the situation was too complicated.

Although relevant departments organized a search and rescue operation afterward, the scale of such a search and rescue operation could not be very large in the face of a major disaster, and he was not the only one who jumped down and went missing.

Therefore, only a few people were eventually found, and many others disappeared without a trace.

"Captain Yuan, this is my old roommate. Who else is in his family?"

"As far as I know, his only living parent is his elderly mother, and his wife has given birth to a son." Yuan Lang had a general understanding of the situation of his soldiers.

"Then this time, I'll go to Cheng Haibo's house!"

Chen Jiang took the assembly line vehicle according to the address and headed to the county where Cheng Haibo's family lived.

The car drove into a somewhat dilapidated urban area and, following the directions on the note, turned into a small alley. However, before he even reached the entrance, he heard a commotion, cries, and harsh shouts coming from ahead.

Chen Jiang's heart tightened, and he ordered the driver to speed up.

Upon closer inspection, a crowd had gathered in front of Cheng Haibo's somewhat dilapidated two-story house. Several burly men dressed in a shady manner were roughly shoving an elderly woman, who eventually collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

Another woman was being held by the arms by two shirtless men, struggling desperately, while her child behind her cried loudly in fear.

A dilapidated excavator was parked nearby, its engine roaring, exuding a menacing aura.

A bald man wearing a gold chain stood with his hands on his hips, yelling, "You old geezer! Don't push your luck! You have to sign the demolition agreement today, whether you like it or not!"

"You can't do this! My son is a soldier!" Cheng's mother cried out.

"Soldier? Ha! Where is he? Don't say he's not here, even if he were, it wouldn't matter. Stop trying to fool us! Hurry up and move it!" The bald man said with a disdainful look, waving his hand to let the excavator move forward.

"stop!"

A loud shout exploded like a thunderclap.

Chen Jiang pushed open the car door and strode over.

He was tall and straight, dressed in military uniform. Although he only had a driver with him, his imposing aura from the battlefield instantly intimidated everyone present, and all eyes were focused on this soldier who had suddenly appeared.

The bald man paused for a moment, looking Chen Jiang up and down. Although he didn't know anything about military ranks, seeing so many stars on Chen Jiang's shoulder insignia, even an idiot would know that the other party was someone important.

A little hesitant, but emboldened by their numbers, they braced themselves and said, "Who are you? Mind your own business! This is commercial demolition, it's legal and compliant!"

Chen Jiang ignored him completely, quickly walked to Cheng's mother's side, carefully helped her up, and then sternly said to the two men supporting Cheng's wife, "Get out!"

The two men felt a cold sweat break out on their backs when he glanced at them, and instinctively let go of each other's hands.

Cheng's wife, holding her child, staggered to her mother-in-law's side, tears streaming down her face.

Chen Jiang then turned to the bald man, his eyes as cold as knives: "She already said her son is protecting the country, what, are you deaf?"

The bald man felt uneasy under the man's gaze, but he couldn't back down in front of everyone, so he forced himself to say, "What do you want? Brother Long wants to develop this land, and his family is refusing to leave. They're just troublemakers!"

"Troublemakers?" Chen Jiang's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling coldness. "Cheng Haibo is my comrade-in-arms, my brother. His mother is my mother! His family is my family! You call them troublemakers?"

He approached the bald man step by step, his murderous aura undisguised: "While I still have some sense, I advise you to get lost!"

Forced to retreat, the bald man shouted, his bravado masking his fear: "What...what do you want? Let me tell you, we're Brother Long's men! You dare touch me and see what happens!"

"Brother Long?" Chen Jiang sneered. "I don't care if you're Brother Long or Brother Chong, I'm going to take care of this today!"

Before he could finish speaking, a thug behind the bald man, oblivious to his own mortality, tried to show off in front of his new boss and swung a wooden stick at Chen Jiang's back!
"Watch out!" Cheng's wife exclaimed.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Chen Jiang did not turn his head. He swiftly dodged the wooden stick by turning to the side, and at the same time, his right hand grabbed the other person's wrist like an iron clamp and twisted it!
With a sharp crack, accompanied by a pig-like scream, the thug's wrist was broken on the spot, and the wooden stick crashed to the ground.

Chen Jiang didn't stop, kicking the thug in the back of the knee, causing him to fall to his knees, crying and sneezing in pain.

This was done so swiftly and cleanly that it instantly stunned everyone.

This is absolutely terrifying!
The other thugs looked at Chen Jiang with fear in their eyes, and no one dared to step forward.

The bald man turned pale with fright and stammered, "You...you dare to hit people! The People's Liberation Army is hitting people! The People's Liberation Army is hitting people!"

He started screaming hysterically.

"Assault? So many people here saw this clearly. You openly attacked a senior colonel in the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Do you even know what crime that is?"

(End of this chapter)