Chen Pingfan did not seem surprised by this. He lowered his voice and said, "I advise you to make a decision soon. This mission is not simple. Without teamwork, your life could be in danger."
"My life is in danger?"
But didn't the big man just say it was a simple mission? Looking at the mission handbook, there were no other issues, and what's more, there was a captain accompanying them.
Chen Pingfan said solemnly, "As far as I know, previous missions were only to collect items. Anything involving people is the responsibility of the actual execution department. I've said what I need to say. You'd best think carefully about how you decide."
With that, he turned and left. Li Chonglou's brow furrowed slightly.
Was this alarmist talk, or was it true?
Before Li Chonglou could make a decision, the team soon began to set off.
A total of twenty-six people, divided into five small teams. Li Chonglou was assigned to the team with one extra person. He didn't know if it was intentional by the big man or a coincidence.
His teammates were four men and one woman, all strangers. He didn't know which original small team they belonged to.
The General Bureau was quite generous, arranging five helicopters and three fighter jets for escort, heading east.
The East Sea was a border area between China and the island nation, considered a disputed territory.
But on the surface, the East Sea Islands belonged to China.
However, perhaps due to the dispute, there were no General Bureau personnel stationed here, only local police. The five helicopters dispatched by the General Bureau were the latest generation, ranking among the top in terms of ammunition capacity and range.
The last time Li Chonglou took a helicopter was on an island in the Lost Land, when Long Shi personally came to rescue him.
On the helicopter, there was no communication among the passengers. The accompanying veteran members of the execution department closed their eyes to rest, occasionally opening them to glance at everyone with a strange look in their eyes.
It seemed like they were somewhat dissatisfied.
Due to the secrecy of the operation, everyone's electronic devices had been handed in before boarding. Li Chonglou didn't know how much time had passed until an island standing alone in the sea appeared in his sight.
Are we here?
As he was thinking, the pilot in front suddenly shouted, "Get ready, jump when I say jump!"
Li Chonglou's expression froze. Were they going to jump from the helicopter?
Fortunately, the altitude had been lowered to an acceptable range. However, for Li Chonglou, it would still be a bit troublesome to undergo soul fusion with Elder An.
"Little Li, although my consumption is not small, for safety's sake, let's maintain the fusion for now."
Elder An's voice suddenly came from his mind.
"Alright, it should calm down a bit once we get inside."
As soon as he finished speaking, the pilot began to shout, and the six people had to jump down to the beach below one by one.
Below them, a truck was parked on the side, and two burly men in tank tops were watching the scene of them jumping from the helicopter.
One of the big men said with dissatisfaction, "Old Feng, what is the higher-ups thinking? They're still sending rookies at a time like this?"
The Old Feng he referred to had a rough face and a full beard, giving him a distinctive and intimidating appearance.
Hearing his companion's complaint, Old Feng said solemnly, "I don't care how many people they send here to die, as long as it doesn't affect our plan. Besides, the重點 (zhòngdiǎn - focus) isn't these rookies."
A strange glint flashed in Old Feng's eyes.
"No matter how bad the rookies are, they at least listen. The ones to watch out for are the regular teams that came with them. Those are the tough ones."
"Heh, don't worry, everything is arranged. Even if the chief captain of the execution department comes, they won't be able to disrupt our plan!"
As they were speaking, Li Chonglou and the others had already jumped down one by one.
Old Feng changed the subject and nodded towards the group, saying, "No matter what, since they're here, let's see if there are any good seedlings. The General Bureau is busy investigating the mole and doesn't have time to deal with our personnel replenishment issues."
High-altitude parachuting, even for experts of a certain realm, was a skillful task.
It required precise control of one's own muscles. Although internal energy could be used to offset the impact, the subsequent elasticity could only be absorbed by the muscles themselves. Those with good technique, to put it crudely, were as steady as an old dog, and even when landing on water, they wouldn't create much of a splash.
Those with insufficient technique would likely be like a depth charge.
Li Chonglou also realized when disembarking that the area below was not a beach, but the sea tens of meters away. Due to the altitude, it was too late to adjust his landing position.
Thinking of the supplies in his backpack, such as medicines that couldn't get wet, Li Chonglou could only mobilize all his muscles. When he landed on the sea, he didn't even get his shoes wet. With a light touch, he glided towards the beach.
At the same time, explosions kept coming from behind him. Experts who were at least at the fourth realm instantly became drenched dogs.
"Damn it, is the pilot crazy or blind? They can't even control the distance properly?"
Those helpless experts who got wet couldn't help but curse as soon as they landed in the water.
Of course, there were also skilled individuals, but due to it being the sea, they couldn't avoid getting wet.
Only Li Chonglou remained unharmed.
"No wonder they were in such a hurry and made us jump without even looking."
On the helicopter, due to the angle, everyone couldn't see the situation below clearly just before jumping. Who would have thought the General Bureau would pull this stunt?
But why?
As Li Chonglou was wondering, he turned around and saw the two people standing by the truck.
Uh, this position was also intentional, wasn't it?
The position where the two were standing was just blocked by the truck from above. Li Chonglou immediately felt a pang of regret. He should have just let them get wet too. Medicines and such were common items, and he could just buy them again when they arrived.
The group grumbled as they walked ashore, then quickly used their internal energy to remove the water. Some experts even used muscle vibrations and heat to evaporate the seawater.
The two big men also walked towards the group.
"Welcome to the East Sea. Please follow me back to the camp first."
Old Feng grinned, but his gaze swept over Li Chonglou as he spoke.
Although Old Feng had a rough appearance, he exuded a certain presence, and his aura was more stable than that of the students. The students didn't say much and obediently followed behind and got into the truck.
With over twenty people crammed into the back of the truck, it was inevitably crowded.
Awkwardly, most people's gazes were intentionally or unintentionally falling on Li Chonglou.
"Don't tell me they all have a grudge against me?"
Li Chonglou could only shift his gaze and look out of the truck.
The truck first drove along a small path next to the beach for a distance, then entered the woods. After a bumpy ride, it emerged onto a sandy road.
Driving on the sandy road, a dust storm was kicked up behind them.