When Hu Hao said he needed to go to the bathroom, Zhang Debiao immediately knew his little brother was up to something. He shouted after him, warning that if he dared to sneak out, he’d kill him.
Hu Hao acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing. Upon reaching the bathroom, he immediately slipped out through the window and landed on the street. Just as Zhao Yang and the others were starting their vehicles, Hu Hao squeezed into one of the armored cars!
“Go, quickly!” Hu Hao yelled as he took a seat!
“Hao-ge, what… what are you doing?” a soldier from the Special Operations Regiment asked.
“Go, quickly! Less talking!” Hu Hao shouted loudly.
“Oh!” Hearing this, the driver in the front immediately got the armored vehicle moving. Hu Hao peered through a firing port, keeping his eyes fixed on the command center’s entrance. Seeing that his big brother hadn’t come out, Hu Hao breathed a sigh of relief!
“Damn it, I finally don’t have to stay cooped up in that command center,” Hu Hao muttered from his seat. For him, staying in a command center was incredibly depressing!
“Hao-ge, why don’t you want to stay in the command center?” a soldier asked.
“What’s the point of being in a command center? Staring at you guys fighting all day while I can’t even go to the front lines myself?! Now that my brother is here, I can just leave it to him!” Hu Hao pulled out some cigarettes and distributed them to the soldiers. The soldier beside him lit one for him!
“Hehe, hahahaha~” Hu Hao puffed on his cigarette, giggling foolishly.
Meanwhile, back with Zhang Debiao, after looking over the files for a bit, he realized five minutes had already passed!
“Did that brat fall into the latrine pit?” Zhang Debiao asked aloud.
“Hao-ge?” Mo Qin asked, standing nearby.
“Yeah, that Er Lengzi. Go to the bathroom and check on him,” Zhang Debiao instructed Mo Qin.
“Alright!” Mo Qin immediately went to the command center’s bathroom. He returned a few minutes later.
“Uh, Biao-ge, Hao-ge is gone!” Mo Qin reported to Zhang Debiao.
“I knew it! The ‘urine evasion’ trick! Damn it, he’s still pulling this stunt!” Zhang Debiao chuckled bitterly and cursed.
He knew Hu Hao’s personality inside out, so when Hu Hao said he was going to the bathroom, Zhang Debiao knew exactly what he was planning. However, considering that staying in the command center probably really was depressing for him, Zhang Debiao turned a blind eye!
“Call the Special Operations Regiment commander from earlier. Tell him to keep an eye on him and stop him from stirring up any major trouble!” Zhang Debiao ordered Dong Qipeng.
“Major trouble?” Dong Qipeng asked, confused.
“Mhm. Call him quickly!” Zhang Debiao urged.
“Oh, alright!” Dong Qipeng grabbed the satellite phone and began contacting Zhao Yang.
“What? He’s not with you? That’s impossible!” Dong Qipeng exclaimed over the phone.
“Tell him he’s definitely in one of his men’s vehicles. Have him ask them right now! Also, pass a message to Er Lengzi: he is not allowed to play too big! Tell him to know when to stop!” Zhang Debiao instructed Dong Qipeng.
“Oh, alright!” Dong Qipeng immediately relayed Zhang Debiao’s words to Zhao Yang.
Hearing this, Zhao Yang quickly used the vehicle’s radio to hail the other cars in the convoy, asking if Hu Hao was with them. Sure enough, he was. Zhao Yang immediately relayed Zhang Debiao’s message to Hu Hao.
Hu Hao sat in the vehicle, smiling smugly.
“Biao-ge, why is he called Er Lengzi?” Dong Qipeng felt like he didn’t know Hu Hao at all anymore. He had been classmates with him for five years, yet he realized he truly didn’t understand him.
“Because he does crazy, reckless things! What else? Whenever that kid goes out, he stirs up major trouble; he doesn’t even bother with small stuff! Sigh!” Zhang Debiao sat there and sighed.
“You and Hao-ge are so close, yet we never heard him mention you before,” Dong Qipeng remarked.
“Close? The moment he sticks his butt in the air, I know what kind of shit he’s going to take. You guys are close with Hu Hao too?” Zhang Debiao didn’t elaborate.
He couldn’t exactly say he and Hu Hao came from Earth. That would probably scare them to death, and they likely wouldn’t believe it anyway.
“Mo Qin, Wang Yao—who’s in Late City—and I are all Hao-ge’s military academy classmates. We were even dorm mates!” Dong Qipeng explained.
“Hmm, not bad. Being brothers with Er Lengzi is your good fortune!” Zhang Debiao nodded.
“Mhm, we feel the same way. Otherwise, we probably would have died long ago!” Dong Qipeng agreed.
“Alright, you guys go back to your work. If I have any questions, I’ll call you. I need to review these files,” Zhang Debiao told the two of them.
“Understood. If you have any questions, just ask us. You’re Hao-ge’s big brother, which makes you our big brother too!” Dong Qipeng said promptly.
“Alright!” Zhang Debiao nodded.
…
Meanwhile, Hu Hao was now sitting in the same vehicle as Zhao Yang. Seeing Hu Hao beaming from ear to ear, Zhao Yang couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Hao-ge, I don’t get it. You’re the Commander, yet you don’t even want to do the job and ran off. Why did you run out here?”
“Of course you don’t get it. What’s there to do as a Commander? The front lines are where real men belong! Tonight, I’m going to take you guys to kill some enemies and show you what a true Special Forces unit looks like. You guys are still too green!” Hu Hao said with a smile.
“By the way, Hao-ge, that Zhang Debiao… you’re so close with him. From what I saw, your relationship is closer than actual blood brothers!” Zhao Yang noted.
“Of course it is! Without my brother, I’d have died long ago. Anyway, just remember this: my brother’s orders are my orders!” Hu Hao smiled.
“Oh, understood!” Zhao Yang nodded.
The vehicle sped rapidly toward Tonglong City.
Meanwhile, in Tonglong City, the Allied forces were launching a counterattack. They had prepared roughly two corps to strike at Hu Hao’s forces from every corner of the city.
During the day, another two Allied corps had arrived in Tonglong City. They were establishing an incredibly robust defensive system, hoping to hold the city at all costs.
If Tonglong City fell to Hu Hao’s troops and the railways were destroyed, the 600,000 troops on the central front would be in deep trouble. Furthermore, if they wanted to launch an offensive on the central front in the future, it would require far more preparation time. With so many railways here, having them destroyed by Hu Hao would be disastrous. Therefore, they deployed roughly an entire corps to establish defensive lines along the railways; this was an area they had to hold.
Two hours later, Hu Hao, Zhao Yang, and the Special Operations Regiment troops arrived in Tonglong City.
Hu Hao retrieved the equipment the Special Operations Regiment had prepared for him: a sniper rifle, a standard assault rifle, and a pistol. He also carried six sniper magazines, six assault rifle magazines, three pistol magazines, four grenades, a combat knife, and a tactical backpack containing some dry rations and loose ammunition!
Once geared up, Hu Hao led Zhao Yang, the Team Leaders, and the Platoon Leaders into an underground air raid shelter!
“Look here. This is the railway station, and this is an underground transit station. The Allied command center is definitely right here, inside this underground transit station!” Hu Hao spread out a city map and explained to Zhao Yang and the Team Leaders.
“Hao-ge, with just the few of us, attacking an enemy command center? Not to mention the other troops in front of it, the command center here is likely a corps-level one. There’s definitely a division-sized guard unit stationed nearby! If we go over there, aren’t we just throwing our lives away?” Zhao Yang argued, looking at Hu Hao.
“Why are you so thick? We obviously can’t attack the command center right now. But if we keep pushing in this direction, what do you think the Allied forces will do?” Hu Hao asked Zhao Yang.
“They’ll definitely divert troops here to stop us!” Zhao Yang answered immediately.
“Exactly! We’re here to train our troops. Without enough enemies, how can we train? Moreover, by drawing the Allied forces’ attention here, we’ll significantly reduce the pressure in other areas.
Another reason is to scare them. Let them know that counterattacking us won’t be that easy! When the time comes, your four teams will advance along this street—Qingnian Avenue, see it?
Right here. Two teams on the left, two on the right. Start killing your way forward. Once we hit Zhanqian Road, we probably won’t be able to push any further. The Allied forces definitely have massive numbers of troops there; they’ve already established defensive lines!” Hu Hao instructed the Team Leaders.
“Hao-ge, maybe… maybe you shouldn’t go?” Zhao Yang suggested. After all, Hu Hao was the Commander-in-Chief of the First Army Group. If anything happened to him, it would be a monumental disaster.
“If I’m not going, why the hell did I even come here?! I might as well have stayed in the command center and slept! Follow me later. You guys need to learn how a Special Forces unit truly operates in combat. Right now, you’re nothing more than an entry-level Special Forces unit!” Hu Hao glared at Zhao Yang.
“Yes, sir! We’ll set out immediately then. The combat zone is only about a kilometer away from us. Shall we proceed on foot?” Zhao Yang asked.
“Let’s move!” Hu Hao packed up the map. He held his assault rifle at the ready, with the sniper rifle secured to his back. In urban combat, an assault rifle was far more practical unless he had an excellent vantage point.
Soon, Hu Hao and his team reached the combat zone. Here, regular troops were holding the line against the Allied offensive.
“Spread out and enter these buildings! Snipers, focus on the Allied commanders! Cover our troops and hold off their attack!” Hu Hao ordered into his headset.
“Yes, sir!” The other soldiers immediately dispersed and infiltrated the nearby buildings. Hu Hao, Zhao Yang, and a squad of soldiers also entered a building.
They quickly made their way up to the fifth floor. After confirming their retreat route, Hu Hao slung his assault rifle over his back, readied his sniper rifle, and positioned himself by a window!
(End of Chapter)