Ye Fei only stayed at the military camp for two days. On the third morning, he, Liu Junyi, and 49 members of the Wanghai Special Forces boarded a plane at the military airport, heading southwest. Since Liu Junyi was the commander-in-chief of this operation, she wasn't counted among the 50 members.
With Ye Fei taking one spot, the team had only 49 special forces soldiers, including three squadron leaders under Liu Junyi. Ye Fei's uncle, Li Bin, remained in Wanghai. If something went wrong with this mission, the Liu family's influence in the Wanghai Military Region could be significantly reduced, as Li Bin held only a squadron leader position.
During the flight, Ye Fei listened to Li Yun and the others reminisce about the competition from six months ago. Their pride was palpable. Liu Junyi had won the individual close combat championship, and the rest of the team performed well. With her exceptional abilities, the Wanghai Special Forces team also took the team championship, and these soldiers were clearly proud of that accomplishment.
After several hours of flying, they landed at a military base in the southwest of Longguo. Just over a hundred miles to the southwest was a vast forest where terrorists were known to be active.
However, since the area was a satellite signal blind spot, no one knew the exact location of the terrorist base, nor their numbers—information had come only from reports by the General Staff.
Perhaps the orders to move were given simultaneously, as when Ye Fei and his team arrived, only a few other teams had reached the base. The majority were still en route.
Those who were already present greeted Ye Fei's team warmly, and when they saw Liu Junyi, there was a clear sense of admiration in their eyes, likely due to the Wanghai Special Forces' stellar performance in the previous competition.
Despite knowing that the special forces members were looking at Liu Junyi with admiration, Ye Fei felt a bit uncomfortable. He wanted to take her away from their gaze, joke aside even if he wanted, but as the commander-in-chief, she couldn't retreat until all the teams had arrived.
Ye Fei took a moment to observe the other special forces teams. The captains of those who had already arrived were all seasoned soldiers in their forties.
While Liu Junyi had the individual strength to win the competition, these older captains likely surpassed her in experience. This added to Ye Fei's suspicion about her role as commander-in-chief. Still, the captains' respectful attitudes toward Liu Junyi made Ye Fei more certain that a conspiracy was in play, targeting all the special forces teams involved in the mission.
Meanwhile, the Wanghai Special Forces members dispersed to chat with old friends from other teams, and Ye Fei was pulled aside by Zhang Qiang and Li Yun.
As they greeted members from other teams, Zhang and Li couldn't resist showing off Ye Fei's impressive marksmanship. While soldiers typically lacked vanity, they took pride in having a sharpshooter in their ranks.
Those from other teams listened with curiosity but were understandably skeptical. When they saw Ye Fei, who look like a 20 years old, they marveled at his youth and insisted on witnessing his skills firsthand when they had the chance.
By noon, most of the special forces teams from across the country had arrived, with the exception of the Beijing team.
A member of the Northeast special forces, chatting with Ye Fei and the others, grumbled, "The Beijing team sure thinks highly of themselves, don't they? We came all the way from the Northeast, and they're still not here."
Zhang Qiang smiled. "Well, they are from the capital. It's only natural they'd have a bit of an air about them."
"Bah!" the Northeast soldier spat. "I can't stand their arrogance. They're not even that good, but they act like they're the best in the world. Let them try to win a championship like Wanghai's team if they think they're so great."
Li Yun chuckled. "To be fair, there are some skilled folks in the capital, like that sharpshooter. None of us here can match her."
"That's true," the Northeastern soldier admitted, his expression souring. "She shot 99 rings out of 10 bullets on a moving target, and at such speed! It's inhuman!" He suddenly turned to Ye Fei and asked, "Brother Ye, Zhang and Li have been praising you. Can you compete with her?"
The woman paused for a moment but continued walking, her anger bubbling beneath the surface. Born with a natural body fragrance, she had earned the nickname "Fragrance Concubine" in her school days. Though it annoyed her, no one in the special forces had ever commented on it, as they were focused on her skills.
Now, Ye Fei's remark, paired with his earlier mutterings, made her think he was just another rich kid playing soldier.
Ye Fei, however, wasn't bothered by her reaction and joined Zhang Qiang and Li Yun for lunch.
Afterward, Zhang and Li took him on a tour of the camp, introducing him to other team members and fostering connections that would help in the upcoming operation.
That night, Ye Fei stayed with Zhang and Li. They gave him plenty of advice, and Li Yun added, "Xiaoman, this is your first mission. Stay in the middle of the group so you can respond quickly if anything happens. Your marksmanship is great, so let us handle the frontline fighting."
Ye Fei was touched by their concern and nodded. "Don't worry, uncles, I know what to do. But won't moving more than a thousand of us alert the enemy?"
Zhang and Li were pleased with Ye Fei's awareness. Zhang explained, "The captain will split us into smaller groups to make it harder for the enemy to detect us. We'll try to be in your group, so just stick close."
Ye Fei nodded in agreement but couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy. Knowing his aunt's character, she would most likely assign herself to the most dangerous group, and with him being given special attention, he wouldn't be able to stay by her side. If something dangerous happened, it could become a serious problem.
However, no clear solution came to mind. His aunt had been made commander-in-chief at a relatively young age, and while her strength earned respect, there would inevitably be those who questioned her decision-making abilities.
If he were to challenge or undermine her leadership by insisting on staying with her, it would only upset her. It seemed that, for now, he had no choice but to take things as they came and handle the situation step by step.
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Author 1: Hey bro, did you get any gifts from your readers.
Your author (sad): ...sigh, I haven't got. Maybe one day I'll get a castle from one of my generous readers. I know they will appreciate me and my novel.
Author 1: Hahahaha....
Author 2: Dream on ! Hahaha...I bet they won't ..hahaha