Chapter 53: This is how steel is forged

  The next morning, Xu Mingliang stood in front of the team and commanded: "First team, fall in!"

  Zhan Peng and others stood nervously in front of Xu Mingliang, slowly taking deep breaths to prepare for the upcoming 30km cross-country run.

  "Look at their uneasy eyes, smiled meaningfully and said: "Don't form a thinking pattern, don't think about problems based on experience. When you haven't grasped the whole situation, don't jump to conclusions, whether it's on the battlefield or in daily life and training! Do you understand?"

  Zhan Peng was stunned, this sentence is very shallow, he seemed to understand, but after careful consideration, his mind was again a mess. Just as he was about to ask, Xu Mingliang had already walked away with a smile.

  Ma Dong stands at the front of the team and announces the details of the long-distance training mission: "Divided into small groups, carrying three days' worth of dry rations for a seven-day long-distance training exercise. At designated locations on the map, snipe simulated targets. During this time, you must evade the search by the instructor-led imaginary enemy squad. If you are completely annihilated or fail to snipe the target, it is considered a mission failure. If you are annihilated consecutively more than twelve times, you will be eliminated immediately. Each time you are sniped, the team leader will change. Currently, No. 7 is designated as the team leader. Everyone checks their equipment and gathers in an hour."

  Xiao Wei immediately led Zhang Peng and others to rush to the equipment room, six people scrambled to tidy up their equipment and hung smoke bombs at their waists. Xiao Wei said: "Number 15 is meticulous, you help everyone check again, don't leave anything behind, we have to stay outside for seven days."

  Zhan Peng checked all the team members' equipment and shouted, "All set!"

  Two hours later, the helicopter took them to a remote mountain forest 200 kilometers away. Five minutes before arriving at the drop-off point, the pilot started counting down, the cabin door opened, and the crew members threw down several ropes. The green light on top of the cabin lit up, and the trainees began to descend rapidly.

  The mountainous terrain occasionally has uncertain side winds and updrafts, and the trainees descended rapidly from an altitude of over 50 meters. As infiltrators and assault team members, Qi Yunfei, Yang Zhiyong (No. 33), and Ding Lichen (No. 42) went down first to establish a perimeter, followed by Team Leader Xiao Lui and Communications Officer Chu Heng, and finally Sniper Zhang Peng.

  The crew members reeled in the rope, gave the students a thumbs up, and the helicopter flew away with a flourish. From now on, it was all up to the students for the next seven days.

  Xiao Wei made a gathering gesture, and Xiang Peng and others immediately gathered around him, surrounding him. Chu Heng, who was in charge of communication, squatted behind Xiao Wei with the radio on his back.

  Xiao Wei said in a low voice after finding the location of the squad on the map: "Brothers! Judging from the map, we are now 100 kilometers away from our target in a straight line. However, if we take into account detours, climbing and other variables, our actual distance is approximately 300 kilometers. Am I right?"

  Qī Yún Fēi carefully examined the map and then used a compass to make some calculations before saying in a low voice, "That's right."

  Xiao Wei spread the map on the ground, pointing to the map and saying: "I just marked our target location on the map. There is a lake between us and the target, with swamps along the lake shore, it seems we have to take a detour. In addition, we also need to prepare for two days of searching for the target and sniping time, and one day of escape time, that is to say we only have four days of rush time, advancing 80 kilometers forward every day, during which we must also prevent being caught by the search team."

  He saw that no one else had any objections, and continued: "Number 19, you're the vanguard. Number 42, covertly follow up and cover number 19, prevent those old guys from knocking out the vanguard! Number 33, rear guard, form a pair of search parties, let's move out!"

  The trainees behind their backs called the instructors "old guys", with a hint of resentment, but this nickname had long been known to Xu Mingliang and others, who just didn't take it seriously, and often smiled and let it go when they heard it.

  Zi Yunfei responded by advancing 30 meters into the woods, stopping to search with his gun for a moment before carelessly plucking some elm leaves and putting them in his mouth. He made a forward motion with his hand towards his back, and after a moment, a small stone flew over and hit the trunk of the elm tree with a "slap". The dry team followed up.

  Long-distance training is a torturous exercise, and the terrain here belongs to glacial mountains, with steep and rugged mountain ranges, deep valleys, dense forests, and crisscrossing gorges that make it difficult for people to move forward. Everyone walks in silence, this is the rule, in the jungle, communication is done through hand gestures, and voices are rarely heard.

  The ground was soft, piled high with thick layers of leaves, some of which had rotted into mud, emitting a nauseating stench.

  Zi Yunfei opened the way, using a machete to cut down some branches and made a bow and arrows. The team had only three days of compressed rations, which could not be used unless absolutely necessary, and they had to rely on hunting for food.

  At 6 o'clock in the afternoon of the first day, the team arrived at the first water source. The map provided this time was very accurate. Xiao Lei checked the surrounding terrain again and re-examined the direction and map without error. After consulting with his teammates, they decided to take a short rest here and set off two hours later.

  Zhan Peng and Yang Zhiyong were in charge of keeping watch, while Qi Yunfei took Chu Heng to go hunting. The two used their helmets to set a trap, and after about ten minutes, they caught several unlucky groundhogs. At this time, Ding Lichen also brought back two snakes he had caught. Xiao Leshan started a fire, and after washing and cleaning the groundhogs and snakes, they were roasted into dried meat, which could be stored for a week.

  While roasting meat, Ding Lichen started making outdoor survival tools. Before long, several arrowheads and stone knives were made. The six people worked silently on their own tasks, coordinating with each other in perfect harmony.

  At eight o'clock in the evening, the team of students set out again.

  The night wind was blowing strongly, taking away the heat from their bodies. From a distance, they could hear the roar of predators hunting for food. The team of trainees was moving silently and quickly through the forest. Suddenly, Qi Yunfei raised his hand to signal the team to stop advancing. He squatted down on the ground, carefully examining something.

  Xiao Wei ran up to him with a gun and asked in a low voice: "What's going on?"

  Zi Yunfei pointed to the footprints on the ground, Xiao Wei looked carefully through the night vision device and let out a sigh of relief, "What a fuss over nothing, these are the footprints of a wild mountain goat."

  Zi Yunfeng searched around and said, "There are many footprints here, so there must be a water source nearby. Now is the time for animals to drink water, let's go catch one or two, and we won't have to worry about food for the next few days."

  Xiao Wei glanced at his watch and said hesitantly, "We've only advanced 30 kilometers today, and there's still more than half of the journey left. Let's not waste any more time."

  "Starting tomorrow, those old guys will chase us until we're exhausted. Where are you going to find food then? It's a pity to let such a good opportunity slip away."

  Xiao Wei bit his lip, thought for a moment, and finally decided to take a risk. "Alright, but we can't wait indefinitely, we must set off within two hours at most." He beckoned the other team members over and told them about the current situation. Except for Zhan Peng who had some hesitation, everyone else agreed unanimously.

  Hunting was Qi Yunfei's favorite, he led the dry team to find a pond, where there were more animal footprints left behind, the students hid in their respective places, Qi Yunfei held the bow and arrow in his hand, concentrated his breath and stared tightly at the edge of the pond.

  The luck was not bad, in less than an hour, a yellow muntjac came, its body slightly smaller than that of a goat. Its vigilance was very high, it walked while carefully peeking at the surrounding bushes, and sniffed the air with its nose, ready to run away at the slightest rustle of leaves.

  The students were downwind of it and hadn't caught its scent, so it finally walked slowly to the edge of the pond, lowered its head quickly drank two mouthfuls of water, and then rapidly lifted its head to look around.

  It was extremely tense, and not the best time for hunting. Qi Yunfei waited patiently, and after more than ten minutes, it finally lowered its head to drink water in big gulps.

  Zi Yunfei slowly stood up, drew his bow, and with a "whoosh" sound of the bowstring, the yellow rabbit's head was pierced by an arrow and fell to the ground, letting out a few mournful cries before lying still.

  Chu Heng let out a loud whoop, leapt out of hiding, and quickly dragged the yellow deer's carcass into the woods. By the time they had washed and dried the yellow deer meat to make jerky, it was already midnight.

  Xiao Wei looked around at the dense forest and said, "Let's set off, we don't have much time left."

  The squad moved forward in a dispersed formation, to avoid being ambushed, they kept their formation very open. The tall and strong No. 33 Yang Zhiyong held the machine gun as the rear guard, preventing the search team from sneaking up from the side or behind.

  The squad had advanced less than ten kilometers when four instructors suddenly emerged from behind, and before Yang Zhiyong could react, they pounced on them, a burst of gunfire sending the entire squad into chaos.

  "Captain 15! Use your head!" one of the instructors shouted in a low voice, and the four people vanished into the darkness.

  Zhan Peng readjusted the formation, assigning Qi Yunfei as the vanguard, Xiao Kui and Ding Lichen in charge of the left and right wings respectively, he and Chu Heng slightly behind them in the middle, Yang Zhiyong holding a machine gun at the rear guard, forming a wedge-shaped formation that was not easy to be ambushed.

  They walked safely and smoothly all the way, until dawn, when Zhan Peng signaled for the team to stop advancing. The trainees gathered around him, took out a map to determine their location. In one day and one night, they had advanced 100 kilometers, exceeding their mission requirements.

  In front, the swamp was already close at hand. Qi Yunfei stuffed dried meat into his mouth and rubbed his bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep, raising his binoculars to gaze out. He said in a low voice, "Estimated 6.5 kilometers wide for the swamp. There's a valley on the other side with weeds as tall as a person, enough to hide an entire company."

  Zhan Peng looked at the map again, "This is the narrowest part of the swamp. If we go around, it will take a long distance and our time is not enough." He calculated in his heart for a moment, then ordered: "Rest on the spot for two hours, set up a guard, take turns to keep watch, who's first?"

  "Here!" Ding Licheng responded with a loud voice, holding his gun and running to the sentry position.

  The remaining five people took off their heavy backpacks like small mountains, leaned against the tree trunks and closed their eyes, soon they fell asleep with loud snores.

  Two hours later, the sentinel Chu Heng woke everyone up. Several sentinels had taken turns using their watch time to cut weeds and made six large grass rafts. This was used to reduce pressure when crossing the marsh.

  Six people tightened their backpacks and began to venture deep into the marsh. The grass was not well-trampled, and they didn't walk far before it scattered into a heap of grass, and there was no time to go back and re-trample it. The six people had no choice but to grit their teeth and move forward one step at a time.