From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

As a senior reporter at headquarters, Sun Zhu does indeed have a considerable influence.

Influenced by this, the two officials in charge of the investigation have basically made up their minds, which is obviously good news for Chen Jun.

However, when the lieutenant colonel called Chen Jun, he found that no one answered the phone in Chen Jun's room at the guesthouse.

Where is Chen Jun at this moment?
He's shopping!
Chen Jun was either training or preparing for the exercise, and during that time he and his fiancée Liao Qiuxue communicated entirely by phone.

If we round it up, it's been almost a year since we last met.

Now that he's been summoned to the capital headquarters for investigation and questioning, and according to the schedule, there will be many more people to talk to today, Chen Jun guesses that he won't have anything to do for the next few days.

So I took this opportunity to invite Liao Qiuxue out.

Have a meal, chat, go shopping, or something.

Liao Qiuxue is very concerned about Chen Jun's affairs. In order to build a digital command system for Chen Jun as soon as possible, she has been buried in the laboratory and has not come out to rest for a long time.

Now that Chen Jun has taken the initiative to invite her to go shopping and have dinner, Liao Qiuxue is naturally more than willing.

She changed into her nice clothes early in the morning, handed over her work to the lab ahead of time, and freed up the whole day just to spend time with Chen Jun.

After meeting at the agreed-upon location, the two tacitly began their day of sightseeing.

Although they didn't publicly say they were dating or that they were in a romantic relationship, they had both implicitly agreed in their hearts.

Even if they don't even hold hands, their smiles are the sweetest.

Chen Jun knew he hadn't spent enough time with Liao Qiuxue, yet she was so supportive of his work, so he felt guilty and decided to go shopping first.

I want to go to a women's clothing store and pick out a few nice clothes as a gift to make up for Liao Qiuxue.

"These are all my current season's trendy styles, and they're all very new. Take a look at this one, for example; many of my customers really like it."

"This red one also suits your skin tone very well, and it has a Chinese style, which is also very nice."

“There are many more styles to choose from here. You can tell me your requirements and preferences, and I can bring them all over for you.”

……

When the clothing store salesperson saw handsome men and beautiful women enter, they were convinced that this was a big sale, so they put in extra effort to promote the product.

Chen Jun didn't really know much about women's clothing, so he planned to focus on making a "shopping bag rack" and wait for Liao Qiuxue to make her choice before paying.

Liao Qiuxue's heart was completely devoted to Chen Jun. She felt happy as long as Chen Jun was by her side and had little interest in buying clothes.

So Liao Qiuxue didn't pay much attention to the whole process of looking at clothes, and even though the sales clerks talked a lot of nonsense, she didn't find a single item she liked.

This made the situation a little awkward.

Thinking that he couldn't go shopping empty-handed, Chen Jun volunteered to break the deadlock and offered to recommend a few items to Liao Qiuxue, which he thought were pretty.

"You have excellent taste; both of your choices are beautiful. I like both of them."

Liao Qiuxue, who initially disliked this and that piece of clothing, immediately beamed with joy upon seeing Chen Jun's selections, as if each item held a special place in her heart.

"Then you should go try it on, see if it fits, and if it does, we'll buy it," Chen Jun said boldly.

"Okay, then wait for me."

Liao Qiuxue seemed to be impatient as well, and immediately went to the fitting room under the guidance of the sales clerk.

However, just as Liao Qiuxue was happy and the sales clerk was secretly pleased that no order had been placed,

Chen Jun's phone rang at an inopportune moment!

The caller was none other than the officer at headquarters responsible for contacting Chen Jun. Since the lieutenant colonel investigator couldn't get through by phone, he was put in charge of contacting Chen Jun.

"Comrade Chen Jun, please come back quickly. We have one last conversation, and we are waiting for you now."

Hearing the staff officer's urgent words on the phone, Chen Jun was still a little puzzled. The second conversation, which was originally scheduled for the day after tomorrow, was being moved up by two days.

However, since headquarters had called to urge him, Chen Jun really had to rush back immediately.

I waited patiently for a few minutes.

"Am I pretty?"

Liao Qiuxue, wearing a beautiful blue dress, walked out of the fitting room like a butterfly in flight, and deliberately twirled in front of Chen Jun.

Her skirt fluttered, making her look exceptionally beautiful.

"Of course, 'beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, the moon hide and flowers blush' was written especially for you." Chen Jun wasn't very good at praising people, but he was good at copying.

"You're the best talker."

Liao Qiuxue's cheeks flushed a deep pink, and her rare coquettishness made her even more charming.

Unfortunately, Chen Jun could only suppress his romantic feelings at this moment.

"Headquarters just called and told me to rush back for a meeting. My planned schedule will probably have to be interrupted," Chen Jun said helplessly.

"Alright, since you're so sweet-talking, I'll approve your application, hehe." Liao Qiuxue imitated the tone of a military leader, her slightly raised chin and haughty expression making her look quite convincing.

"Wow, not bad, you learn pretty fast."

Chen Jun couldn't resist wanting to pinch her little nose, and at the same time, he felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

A sensible woman is the most pleasing to men.

Then Chen Jun acted like a nouveau riche, paying for all the clothes in a grand manner, agreeing to have lunch together, and then hailed a taxi and left.

Chen Jun estimated that the conversation would only take half an hour round trip, and he would definitely have enough time to go out and have lunch.

The actual time was roughly what Chen Jun had anticipated.

However, the survey results were unexpected.

When Chen Jun rushed back to headquarters and returned to the conference room, he was not met with the questioning he had expected, but rather with a swift and decisive final investigation result.

With a warm smile on his face, the colonel announced that the investigation was over and that Chen Jun could return to his unit at any time.

As for the final investigation results, we'll have to wait until Team Leader Tan returns from abroad and submits the interview transcripts before we can get them.

After announcing the investigation into Chen Jun, the senior colonel and lieutenant colonel even went out of their way to chat with Chen Jun, their words clearly indicating an intention to get closer to him.

The change from senior colonel to lieutenant colonel was so drastic that Chen Jun was completely baffled.

but.

Although he didn't know why the two had changed so quickly, Chen Jun was still very happy that the annoying investigation was finally over and he could return to the army.

I chatted with the colonel and lieutenant colonel for half an hour, then declined their invitation to have lunch together.

Chen Jun and Liao Qiuxue reunited at the restaurant.

The two were just one step away from confessing their feelings for each other, and their emotions were already tacitly understood. Naturally, the meal was a sweet and delightful affair.

Although there were no physical intimacy, their eyes were filled with each other. Chen Jun had previously given Liao Qiuxue several sets of clothes, and during the meal, Liao Qiuxue reciprocated by buying Chen Jun a brand-new mobile phone as a gift.

Full of anticipation, Chen Jun hoped to use it immediately, as if the phone would replace him and keep him company.

Feeling Liao Qiuxue's affection for him, Chen Jun originally planned to immediately get a new phone, but suddenly remembered something while taking it off the case.

Considering that I still need to use this old phone for fishing, I can't replace it at this crucial moment.

So he decided to get a new SIM card, put it in his new phone, and use the new phone specifically to contact Liao Qiuxue, while keeping the old phone for phishing.

The idea of ​​having a personal phone sounds very affectionate, and Liao Qiuxue was very satisfied with the arrangement.

Since there was not much time left in the Land and Sea No. 1 exercise, Chen Jun had to go back to arrange troop training and take charge of the overall situation, so he could not stay here with Liao Qiuxue any longer.

Liao Qiuxue also had to rush back to the laboratory to carry out the final stage of the digital command system.

As long as there are no major problems with this test, the digital system can be put into trial operation within a month at most, and at the fastest, within half a month.

With the addition of digital systems, the combat effectiveness of the 7th Steel Brigade will undoubtedly be greatly enhanced.

Both had their own needs, and both were at a critical juncture.

So after dinner, Chen Jun and Liao Qiuxue hugged at the restaurant entrance before getting into their respective cars and going their separate ways.

……

At this critical moment, with a major battle imminent, all parties participating in the exercise are secretly vying for dominance.

The 708th Brigade conducted a covert investigation into the terrain and layout of Chenghai City, determined to wash away the humiliation in this crucial battle; the 909th Brigade secretly deployed long-range rocket artillery, aiming to make it a trump card weapon.

As the core commander of the 7th Steel Brigade, which was on the offensive in the first battle, Chen Jun could not be an outsider in the capital authorities.

Fortunately, the turmoil caused by the Warrior Operation exercise did not affect Chen Jun, and the investigation came to a temporary end, allowing Chen Jun to return to take charge of the overall situation.

During the time Chen Jun was away, the work of the 7th Steel Brigade did not fall behind.

As the brigade cadre of the 7th Steel Brigade who, besides Chen Jun, was most knowledgeable about special operations and frontline reconnaissance, Hong Yi took the initiative to shoulder the most arduous task.

That is to sneak out to the outside of Chenghai City's defense line and hide in the woods to conduct reconnaissance of the defense line.

The goal was to locate all the heavy firepower positions of the 909th Brigade through close observation and searching, in order to gather intelligence for the upcoming offensive.

Know yourself and the enemy.

Only then can we be invincible in every battle.

Only by identifying all of the defender's firepower can the attacker avoid the enemy's strengths, find their weaknesses, and break through them in one fell swoop.

In order to conduct close-range reconnaissance without being detected by the 909th Brigade, the location of the observation post naturally had to be sufficiently concealed.

For this reason, Hong Yi specifically chose a place without a road, only a path hidden in the woods, where one had to climb 1,980 steps to reach "Platform 198".

This spot is rarely visited. It was built by the soldiers of the artillery observation post back then. The entire staircase is very steep, with an average slope of over forty degrees. It would be really difficult for someone without any leg strength to climb up.

Because it was impossible to drive up there and walking up would be extremely difficult, Hong Yi specifically chose this mountaintop as a reconnaissance outpost for this trip.

"7088, a machine gun emplacement, facing northwest."

"7117, a machine gun position facing due north."

"6584, a mortar position facing due west."

"6055, two individual bunkers, facing due north."

……

Two scouts hid in a disguised observation post. One used a high-powered scope to observe the distant woods, while the other recorded information with pen and paper. They worked together to continuously investigate and gather information.

"How's the situation?"

At this moment, Hong Yi walked in from behind and inquired about the reconnaissance points that he had specifically instructed to keep an eye on.

"Deputy Chief of Staff Hong, so far, we haven't found any Red Army motorized infantry battalions entering the Dongpingshan position, nor have we found their long-range rocket artillery battalion," the scout responsible for recording intelligence reported loudly.

"That's strange. Where did his long-range fire go? Where was it hidden?" Hong Yi frowned.

Zhu Rongsheng knew that rocket artillery was effective against amphibious landings, and Hong Yi, whose military talent far surpassed Zhu Rongsheng's, could not possibly have been unaware of this, which is why he consistently designated it as a primary target for observation.

However, after observing for several days, they have found no trace of the distant fire camp.

This made Hong Yi very upset!
"We haven't found the target yet. We're continuing our reconnaissance northward, narrowing the search area to increase the chances of a successful search," the scout said.

"That's all we can do for now. Let's continue. Report to me immediately if anything happens," Hong Yi instructed.

Meanwhile, at the foot of Mount Tai, Wang Qingrui and Gao Cheng, along with several soldiers, had brought instant noodles, sausages, and other necessities to a row of ladders.

"Brigade Commander, this is the Heavenly Ladder. It's too steep. Let's not go up. Let the soldiers take the supplies up and hand them over to Deputy Chief of Staff Hong."

Gao Cheng looked at Wang Qingrui with concern in his eyes, genuinely worried that the fifty-something-year-old Wang Qingrui wouldn't be able to climb up.

Getting older.

It's hard to keep up physically.

"Gao Cheng, you dare to look down on me? Watch out or I'll kick your butt. I'm not that old yet. This little mountain path, when I was young, I could run up it in one breath. Even now that I'm older, it's not a problem," Wang Qingrui said with a laugh.

Wang Qingrui was also a man of strong character who refused to admit defeat; his "bravery and fighting spirit" was a tradition of the 702nd Regiment.

“I have a hard time climbing this ladder, Brigade Commander. Let’s just forget about it and take a walk around the area to check out the terrain,” Gao Cheng advised.

"No, Hong Yi and his reconnaissance team have been guarding the area for three days and three nights. How can we back down? We have to go."

Without waiting for Gao Cheng's reply, Wang Qingrui strode up the ladder.

“The observation data is transmitted back every half hour, so we can see it even when we’re in the command post,” Gao Cheng said, catching up from behind and continuing to persuade him.

“It’s different if I go up there. The leader isn’t home. If I don’t go up, what will the soldiers think? Besides, seeing things with my own eyes is different from hearing reports,” Wang Qingrui insisted.

"Alright, I'll walk up with you."

Gao Cheng couldn't argue with Wang Qingrui, so he gave up trying to persuade him and turned to the soldiers behind him, saying, "You guys take the water and food up first."

"Yes!"

The sergeant, a young man in his early twenties, stepped forward and led his soldiers up the ladder.

"It's good to be young."

Watching the group of soldiers nimbly and powerfully climbing the steep ladder, Wang Qingrui, despite his tough words, had to admit defeat in his heart.

If it were Wang Qingrui, who is now in his fifties, he wouldn't be able to run two or three steps at a time, let alone one step at a time.

Then we can only proceed slowly! (End of Chapter)