Hu Hao led his troops to the vicinity of Zhanqian Park, only to discover many vehicles driving out from the underground air raid shelters. Furthermore, the officers who had been present earlier were now nowhere to be seen. Hu Hao deduced that the command center had already relocated—they had fled.
“Hao-ge, there’s nothing left here!” Zhao Yang approached Hu Hao and reported.
“This won’t do. If we fight like this, we won’t catch anything. The Allied forces knew we were coming before we even got here!” Hu Hao said, lying prone.
“Then how do we fight? We’ve been doing well so far. The Allied forces amassed a massive number of troops here, probably around three divisions. Including the ones we wiped out earlier, there must have been at least five Allied divisions in this area, plus forces from other directions. I estimate our combat results tonight are going to be massive!” Zhao Yang asked upon hearing Hu Hao’s comment.
“Hmm. Let’s fall back a bit and discuss this further back!” Hu Hao nodded. With that, he grabbed his rifle and ran toward the ground floor of a tall building behind them!
Zhao Yang followed, along with several Special Operations soldiers carrying satellite phones. Standing there, illuminated by the flashes of gunfire, Hu Hao checked his watch. It was already past midnight!
“If we just fight our way to their command center, I’m guessing they’ll just relocate again. We’re making too much noise. Zhao Yang, organize a squad immediately; we’re heading out right now. See that subway station over there? We’re going in through there!” Hu Hao instructed Zhao Yang.
“A squad? We’re operating with just one squad?” Zhao Yang stared at Hu Hao in shock.
“Yes, a single squad. Too many people will make it hard to move. However, we’ll need the brothers outside to coordinate with us. Look here. From here to the subway station at the railway terminal is a little over a kilometer.
If we take this subway tunnel, it’s a two-kilometer trek. We need to march through the subway tunnels and sneak right into the Allied command center!” Hu Hao nodded and explained.
“Hao-ge, that’s too dangerous! If we get surrounded, we’ll be in deep trouble!” Zhao Yang warned.
“Can you be a bit bolder? As the Special Operations Regiment, our job is to operate entirely within the enemy’s encirclement!” Hu Hao looked at Zhao Yang with disdain.
“Hao-ge, if it were just me, it’d be fine. But you are the Army Group Commander! If something happens to you, how am I supposed to explain it?!” Zhao Yang pressed.
“Cut the crap! Are you going or not? If not, I’ll find someone else!” Hu Hao demanded.
“I’ll go! But Hao-ge, why do we have to target their command center? If we just keep fighting like we are now for a few more days, I reckon we can cripple the Allied forces anyway. Isn’t that the same thing?” Zhao Yang asked.
“Hehe. If we capture the Allied command center, we can sell them for money! And we can fiercely slap that Vostok across the face! Damn it, that bastard actually didn’t reply to the video I posted this morning!
Since he didn’t reply, we’ll just have to extract some benefits ourselves! Hurry up and contact the squad!” Hu Hao ordered, standing there.
“Ah? For money? Hao-ge, you can’t! If you sell those commanders, you’ll drown in the spit of the High Command and the citizens!” Zhao Yang warned Hu Hao.
“Drown my ass! I can swim! Hurry up! You don’t need to worry about this!” Hu Hao retorted.
Soon, Zhao Yang assembled a squad. Hu Hao called the Team Leader and the Platoon Leaders over. Unfolding a subway map in the dim room and illuminating it with a flashlight, he began analyzing the route for them.
Outside, the battle still raged. The Allied forces were suffering heavy casualties. Meanwhile, Hu Hao’s fresh recruit units were fighting quite well, primarily because the Special Operations soldiers were keeping an eye on them. Wherever a crisis emerged, the Special Operations troops would quickly step in to plug the gap.
As a result, seeing that they weren’t in immediate mortal danger, the fresh recruits fought with increasing courage. They began applying the tactical coordination they had practiced in training, slowly accumulating real combat experience.
The junior officers were doing the same. Whatever they hadn’t understood about commanding before, they were now learning on the fly through actual combat. Consequently, the entire force was growing at an incredible rate, though the price paid was steep, as casualties were inevitable in war!
Once Hu Hao finished laying out the plan, he immediately led them toward the Zhanqian Park subway station. Upon arriving, they began descending the entrance. Down below, it was pitch black!
Rifle in hand, Hu Hao took point, with the rest of the squad trailing behind! Once they reached the subway tracks, Hu Hao crouched down and listened intently, the rest of the squad gathering around him.
“There are people 500 meters ahead, past the bend. But not many. Judging from their conversation, it’s just a guard unit!” Hu Hao whispered to them!
“So we’re launching an assault right here? If the Allied forces flank us from behind, we’ll be in trouble!” Zhao Yang said to Hu Hao.
“Leave ten men here to keep watch. They just need to hold the line for ten minutes! If anything happens, notify us immediately. I’m guessing the Allied forces haven’t deployed troops inside the subway station itself. Their primary threat comes from above ground, not below.
Look, the tunnel has collapsed in many places here, blocking any possibility of large troop movements. But they haven’t anticipated that we are operating as a small unit!” Hu Hao pointed into the distance as he spoke to Zhao Yang and the others.
“You can see clearly?” Zhao Yang peered into the distance. It was just darkness upon darkness, without a single glimmer of light.
“I can see a little. Leave ten men; we are continuing the operation!” Hu Hao instructed.
“Alright. 1st Squad, stay here! If anything happens, notify us immediately!” Zhao Yang ordered.
“Understood!” The 1st Squad Leader acknowledged, then began instructing his men to secure key positions to ensure Hu Hao’s team would have a safe route of retreat.
Hu Hao then led Zhao Yang and the rest of the team forward. He maintained a distance of over 100 meters ahead of the main group. The curve of the subway tunnel wasn’t sharp, merely a gentle arc. After leading them for over 300 meters, Hu Hao finally spotted a faint glimmer of light ahead.
The path leading from the subway station to the railway terminal was essentially entirely blocked off. Relying on the faint light, Hu Hao confirmed there was no one around and boldly advanced. When Zhao Yang caught up and saw the blocked path, he immediately contacted Hu Hao via headset.
“Hao-ge, Hao-ge! The path ahead is blocked; we can’t get through!” Zhao Yang whispered.
“What do you know? Their command center is right here. If they didn’t block it off, wouldn’t it be more dangerous for them? This is exactly what we want!” Hu Hao replied softly as he continued walking.
“But we can’t get past it!” Zhao Yang insisted.
“Use your brain! Why couldn’t we get past it? There’s light coming from the other side, and we can hear them talking. That means the blockage isn’t very thick. We still have a chance!” Hu Hao replied, pressing forward.
He soon reached the blocked section. In truth, the Allied forces hadn’t intentionally blocked it; they had blown up the ceiling, causing a cave-in. Spotting this, Hu Hao immediately began climbing. Upon reaching the top of the rubble, he peered through the gaps and observed the situation on the other side!
“Damn, it really is the command center!” Hu Hao whispered, lying prone on the rubble. Hearing this, Zhao Yang, the Team Leader, and several Platoon Leaders climbed up and lay beside him, peering carefully through the gaps!
“I see a Major General, not far away, look!” a Platoon Leader whispered extremely softly. Hearing this, Hu Hao immediately looked in that direction. Sure enough, a Major General was standing there, smoking a cigarette!
“If even a Major General is slacking off here, then there’s at least a Lieutenant General inside. Hehe, a big fish!” Hu Hao chuckled.
“A big fish is great, but how do we get over there? Look at this path—there are Allied guard units all along the way. The moment we make a move, they’ll know, and the commanders will definitely run! Catching them will be difficult!” Zhao Yang turned his head and whispered to Hu Hao.
“Difficult my ass! See that?” Hu Hao pointed to a corner of the caved-in area. Zhao Yang moved closer and discovered a gap large enough for a person to squeeze through.
“This is right along the edge of the subway tunnel. As long as we don’t make too much noise, it won’t be a problem. I’ll go down first and see about taking out the guards closest to this side, then you guys follow!” Hu Hao instructed Zhao Yang.
“Hao-ge, this is the enemy command center! If the operation fails, you’ll be surrounded! We won’t be capturing them; they’ll be capturing us!” Zhao Yang grabbed Hu Hao and whispered anxiously.
“Capture me? Tsk. Listen up, all of you. The moment you hear gunfire, immediately blow this gap wider with explosives! Additionally, station a squad of soldiers here. Have them move up first and secure this position. Do not let the Allied forces bottle us up from here!” Hu Hao ordered Zhao Yang, the Team Leader, and the Platoon Leaders.
“Understood!” They nodded.
“Hao-ge!” Zhao Yang grabbed Hu Hao again.
“Remember, you are the Special Operations Regiment! This is exactly what the Special Operations Regiment is meant to do! It’s the middle of the night. Look at those guards—which one of them isn’t dozing off? As long as the opportunity is right, we take them out!” Hu Hao told Zhao Yang.
“Alright!” Hearing this, Zhao Yang knew he had no choice. Hu Hao was the boss, so he could only listen. With that, Hu Hao began squeezing through the small gap.
The lighting in the subway wasn’t very bright. The entire city’s power grid was down, and the war had severed the power lines leading here. They were currently relying on generators, so they hadn’t installed many lights!
Once through, Hu Hao crept cautiously along the subway wall. Zhao Yang followed, and the rest of the soldiers slipped through one by one. Hu Hao ignored the situation behind him, his eyes locked on the few Allied guards leaning against the wall, chatting and smoking.
(End of Chapter)