Chapter 33: He drew a drop of blood

  As soon as I arrived in Xishuangbanna, I rented a Land Rover from the car rental company and drove Jason to the headquarters of the Forward Command Post and its affiliated troops located in the southern mountainous area of Xishuangbanna.

  About an hour and a half later, we arrived at our destination.

  This force was a temporary formation, with the Chief of Staff of the Chengdu Military Region as the Commander-in-Chief and the Deputy Director of the Political Department of the General Staff as the Political Commissar. The troops gathered the elite forces from various major military regions and branches at that time, totaling over 200,000 people. Later, as the anti-terrorism war escalated and the armed forces of cult organizations continued to join the war, the troops also carried out reinforcements one after another, with a total of over 400,000 troops deployed.

  I was one of the first batch of soldiers dispatched at that time. Due to my excellent individual combat skills and mastery of sophisticated communication skills, as soon as I arrived at the troops, I was assigned to the special operations battalion directly under the codename "Fishbone". After being assigned to the special forces, I participated in a three-month multinational special forces training exercise, after which I was sent to the front line.

  Everyone thought it would be a war that would end soon, but no one expected it to last so long. Now, four years have passed, the war has been on and off, and there is still no sign of ending. In the past four years, countless soldiers have fallen in battle; during the most brutal period of the war, I saw every day the relatives of martyrs who came from thousands of miles away, holding the ashes of the martyrs, walking by with a sorrowful expression. Among them - mothers would say to their sons: "Child, let's go home with mom!" Wives would say to their husbands: "Husband, let's go home with me!" Children would say to their fathers: "Dad, let's go home!"

  The forward command post was originally the headquarters of an armored division, but due to the outbreak of war, it was temporarily requisitioned. However, as time passed, this armored division headquarters has become the permanent residence of the forward command headquarters.

  I stopped the car by a stream and then climbed up a nearby hill with Jason. After reaching the top of the mountain, I pointed to several buildings in the distance and said to Jason: "Jason, look, that's our unit's headquarters over there." Jason shaded his eyes and looked into the distance, saying: "This location is really good, it has mountains behind and water in front, and it's located at a strategic point, making it easy to defend. By the way, Mudskipper, are there any fortifications in that mountain?"

  When Jason asked me this question, I looked at him and smiled, saying "Sorry, no comment." Jason winked slyly and said, "Come on, we're allies, and you've already joined the Foreign Affairs Bureau. We're comrades in arms now, there's no need to keep secrets from me." I shook my head and said, "It's not that I'm keeping secrets, it's just that I really don't know." Jason said, "Forget it, if you won't say then I'll just have to figure it out myself. Actually, even if you didn't tell me, I already knew. Not just me, probably the whole world knows. Your Chinese army is best at 'digging deep and storing grain', who knows how many military research bases you've built inside those mountains, how many tunnels you've dug, or how many nuclear warheads you've hidden."

  I chuckled and said, "You really do have an imagination." Jason said, "Alright, don't pretend like you don't know anything. Don't worry, I'm not going to interrogate you severely." As he spoke, he took out his camera and started snapping photos. I hastily stopped him, saying, "No...Jason, this is a military restricted area, no photography allowed." Jason continued to press the shutter button nonstop, saying, "Don't worry, I'm just taking some scenic shots." I helplessly shook my head and didn't stop him again, but in my heart, I started slowly thinking of ways to delete the photos from his camera.

  "What's that river over there?" Jason asked, pointing to a winding water system in the distance. "Oh...that's the Lancang River, and if you follow it downstream, it'll take you to the Mekong River." "Oh..." Jason asked again, "How does it feel? Now that you've finally seen the troops you've been thinking about day and night, aren't you feeling much more relieved?" I smiled wryly: "Relieved? How could I be? It's so close yet so far away."

  Jason comforted: "Mudfish, your return is a matter of time, don't be pessimistic, I believe you can overcome everything." I said lightly: "Actually, I don't need to overcome everything, as long as I can overcome myself, that's enough." "What do you mean?" Jason asked. I gazed at the distant lush mountains and self-deprecatingly said: "Nothing, just remembered how I once almost shot myself, feeling a bit childish and ridiculous."

  Jason smiled and said, "Oh, I didn't think that even a warrior like you would have a moment of collapse! Alright, let's not talk about this. Come on, I'll take a photo with you and your troops to commemorate the occasion." I thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, we shouldn't take any photos. The troops have seen enough, let's just leave here as soon as possible or else we'll get into trouble if we're discovered by patrolling warriors." "Alright!" Jason nodded in agreement.

  "By the way, where is Liu Hui?" Jason suddenly asked. "Liu Hui... Bantou Long!" I thought for a moment and said: "This person has a special identity, you'd better not provoke him; the bill will be settled with him sooner or later, but now is not the time. If something happens to you, I won't be able to explain it to Mrs. Jones." Jason said: "It's not as serious as you say, don't worry, I have a sense of proportion in doing things." "Okay, let's leave the military control zone first, and then I'll think of a way to get him out," I said to Jason.

  Jason and I headed back the same way. Along the way, Jason kept pressing the shutter, taking pictures of all the flowers and grasses. Suddenly, two patrolling warriors appeared in our line of sight.

  Jason said nervously, "No good, there are Liberation Army!" I told Jason, "Don't be nervous... they're just patrolling, maybe they won't bother us." Jason asked, "If necessary, should we make a move on them?" "Absolutely not!" I hastily refuted: "We can't harm them, just play it by ear, they're all new recruits, they won't hurt us."