Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 703, Section 709: Extra Chapter: Zhu Yiba's Past (Part 5)

"Platoon leader, we're about to charge," the squad leader said in a low voice as he crawled over.

Zhu Yiba slowly raised his hand, just as he was about to give the order, when suddenly the squad leader grabbed his arm.

The squad leader, who had been waiting for orders, caught a glimpse of a flash of white light on the opposite mountainside out of the corner of his eye: "Platoon leader, wait."

He raised his binoculars and looked in the direction of the flash, and immediately spotted the person.

A man was hidden behind a tree, holding an AK-47 in his hand, steadily aiming at the transaction site below.

"Squad leader, what's wrong? Is something going on?" Zhu Yiba asked urgently, his voice trembling as he watched the transaction on the roadside about to end and the two sides waving goodbye.

The squad leader nodded and said in a deep voice, "Platoon leader, there are snipers on the opposite mountain. I suggest we note down the license plates of the vehicles driven by people in the mountains and investigate them later. As for the operation, we can cancel it for now."

"Canceled?" Zhu Yiba looked incredulous. "This was an order from the Chief of Staff, how could it be canceled?"

After saying that, he also raised his binoculars and looked in the direction that the squad leader had been looking.

Clearly, a man carrying a rifle came into view.

The squad leader thought for a moment and said, "Or we could take out the sniper on the other side first, but the distance is a bit far, and the guy is behind cover, so we might not be able to take him out."

While keeping an eye on the sniper, Zhu Yiba said, "No way. As soon as we fire, whether we hit them or not, the two people on the road below will be scared and run away. They're in a car, we can't catch them."

"Platoon leader, what should we do?"

"No problem, it's just one person. We'll rush down and subdue the two below, then hide behind the car and we'll be fine. He can't hit us," Zhu Yiba decided after surveying the surroundings.

"Platoon leader, you really can't! This is too dangerous!"

The squad leader, who had always followed Zhu Yiba's lead, unexpectedly put his hands on Zhu's arms this time, resolutely opposing the platoon leader's order.

"Squad leader, what are you doing! We're running out of time!"

"No, platoon leader, it's too dangerous!"

Faced with the superior's questioning, the squad leader simply shook his head, gripping Zhu Yiba's arm tightly.

Zhu Yiba was somewhat annoyed, but he couldn't resist the persistence of the man in his thirties. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the two men got into their respective cars and drove back the way they came.

He feared regret more than failure, because only regret would linger in his mind and constantly provoke him in the days to come.

In Zhu Yiba's memories of joining the army, there is no such word as "failure" except for today.

He sat on the ground, discouraged, without saying a word.

Border station, station chief's office.

Wang Hai sat behind his desk, speechless as he watched his two subordinates standing before him. Ever since Zhu Yiba and the squad leader returned to the unit, they had been making a racket all the way from the equipment room to his office.

"A soldier's duty is to obey! Squad leader, if this were on the battlefield, I could have killed you!" Zhu Yiba shouted, his neck thick.

"What are you talking about!"

Wang Hai slapped down, pointing at Zhu Yiba and sternly criticizing him: "Zhu Yiba, I didn't realize you had such a commanding air about you. What era are we living in? Still swaggering around with that old-fashioned military style? Huh?"

Zhu Yiba turned around, refusing to back down an inch, and said, "Wang Zhan, I just feel ashamed that the mission wasn't completed!"

Wang Hai waved his hand: "Old Wang, this is none of your business. You go ahead and get busy."

After the class monitor left, Wang Hai waved to Zhu Yiba, signaling him to sit down first.

Zhu Yi sat down arrogantly, turning his head to the side, much like the class monitor who had been wronged earlier.

After scolding him, Wang Hai had to offer a carrot, trying to close the gap between them: "What were you specifically responsible for in the special operations platoon before?"

"Infiltration team."

"Infiltration group? Spying?" "Uh, how could we do that? We're the kind of people who get to the front lines and solve problems."

"The front line, solving problems, is where the commando team comes in."

"It's pretty much the same, but since we're all carrying out missions outside the mountains, we value concealing our identities more than actual combat. Assaults and the like are too conspicuous."

“I understand. The mission can fail, but our identities cannot be exposed. Hmm, in that case, ‘infiltration team’ is indeed more appropriate than ‘assault team’.”

After chatting about the special operations platoon for a while, Zhu Yiba's emotions calmed down a bit.

Wang Hai got up and went to the water dispenser to pour himself a glass of water: "Did you think that if you rushed in and caught them red-handed, you could successfully complete the mission?"

Zhu Yiba pursed his lips, not turning his head back, his attitude obvious.

Wang Hai placed the water glass in front of Zhu Yiba and continued, "Don't you think that if I gave you a sniper rifle, you could aim at that sniper on the other side and shoot a few times to kill him?"

Zhu Yiba couldn't help but hum aloud.

Wang Hai, unfazed, placed the cup in front of Zhu Yiba and slowly said, "Do you think that with the skills you've developed in the Special Operations Platoon, you can take care of the two men below in no time? And then, like you said before, lean against the back of the car and exchange a few shots with that sniper on the opposite mountain?"

After a pause, Wang Hai smiled and made a shooting gesture, imitating the action on TV, and joked, "Is it like in the movies, leaning against the back of the car, sometimes sticking out half of your body to fire a few shots, sometimes braving a hail of bullets, and successfully escorting two criminal suspects back to the station?"

Zhu Yiba muttered, "He probably won't dare to shoot at us."

"Not going to fire? Afraid to fire?" Wang Hai chuckled, pointing to the scars on his cheeks and teasingly said, "I think I'm more qualified to speak on this than you are. Besides, a car body can't stop AK-47 bullets."

Zhu Yiba glanced quickly at the two holes on the station chief's face that looked like gunshot wounds, opened his mouth, but then closed it.

"I know the name of your Special Operations Platoon. The Chief of Staff said that 'victorious in every battle' is an exaggeration, but 'victorious in ninety-nine out of a hundred battles' is closer. You're not bad either, so young, and you've already won First-Class Merit Citations, Second-Class Merit Citations, and Third-Class Merit Citations. Hmm, let me think, you probably have a First-Class Merit Citation plaque hanging in your house by now."

Seeing the station chief, who was two levels above him, speaking to him so kindly, Zhu Yiba, who was only responsive to gentle persuasion, finally turned around and whispered, "Station Chief Wang, I just feel wronged."

"I felt wronged. Watching them run away right under my nose, I felt not only wronged but also very angry."

Wang Hai first acknowledged the feelings of his general, then slowly advised, "But you have to think about it. This is just an ordinary border post, not an invincible special operations platoon. You've been leading the team for over a month. Tell me, can these greenhorns under your command do what the elites in your special operations platoon do, with all the fancy tricks?"
"Serpentine movement? Point-to-area attack? Suppressive fire? Impossible. Apart from wearing the same uniforms as your special operations platoon, they are completely incomparable. Once they open fire, our soldiers have a high probability of being injured. Those are AK-47s, after all."

After a pause, Wang Hai asked softly, "I believe that even wearing a bulletproof vest, taking a few shots from 7.0mm bullets would be quite a blow. You certainly know its power better than I do."

The AK's accuracy is mediocre, but its strength is unquestionable. Within its effective range of 100 meters, a bullet that hits a target and tears it apart can have an astonishing muzzle diameter of 10 cm.

Zhu Yiba raised his head and said in a loud voice, "We fight for our country, and even if we die, it is an honor!"

After hearing this, Wang Hai laughed and pointed at him, saying, "You've been in the Special Operations Platoon for five years. I bet you've been through a lot of dangerous places, right?"

Zhu Yiba was taken aback. How did this get to the special operations platoon? He had never intended to use his special operations identity to suppress anyone.

Wang Hai stood up, walked to the window with his hands behind his back, looked at the soldiers who were training hard on the training field outside, and slowly said: "You, I don't need to guess to know that you have never experienced the sacrifice of your comrades."

sacrifice?

In Zhu Yiba's undefeated experience with the special operations platoon, he had never actually encountered such a thing.

In the worst-case scenario, you might go hungry for a few days, but the mountains and forests have everything you could possibly need, so you can easily prepare a wild game meal.

Injury? The only thing I can think of right now is Lao Lü's foot injury, which is crooked.

However, he still stubbornly stood up and said, "We are soldiers. Soldiers must be ready to sacrifice their lives at any time to ensure the safety of the motherland and the people! Those who are afraid of death are not worthy of being soldiers!"

Wang Hai turned around, walked up to Zhu Yiba, and looked him straight in the eye: "Let me tell you, a soldier who only thinks about sacrificing himself will never be a good soldier. You're an officer; besides the mission, you also need to think about your comrades!"

Zhu Yiba was still unconvinced.

Wang Hai looked over his shoulder at the photos on the honor roll behind him, the top one being a black and white photo of a soldier.

Suddenly, he lost the will to continue lecturing and waved for Zhu Yiba to leave.

(End of this chapter)