"Emergency assembly!"
Accompanied by the long blare of the alarm outside the dormitory and the shouts of the squad leader.
The freshmen of Class Five, still in their dreams, were suddenly awakened.
Everyone leaped out of bed with lightning speed, put on their combat uniforms, shouldered their regularly trained Type 95 rifles, and grabbed their combat packs, rushing out of the dormitory quickly and orderly.
From waking up to assembling downstairs, the twelve classes took less than five minutes.
After two weeks of hellish training, all the freshmen had developed a conditioned reflex to the alarm and the words "emergency assembly."
Therefore, the moment the alarm sounded and the squad leader roared, all the freshmen habitually dressed, grabbed their guns, and quickly assembled downstairs.
Dormitory training ground.
After twelve classes reported their numbers, twelve army green trucks drove from the training ground not far away.
"Turn left, march!"
Squad Leader Li Dong led Gao Fei and twenty others straight to the military truck that Class Five was assigned.
Seeing all the classes rushing towards the trucks on the training ground, a question arose in the minds of all the freshmen.
Today's emergency assembly seemed different from the training week. Why were more than a dozen trucks involved?
"Damn, could it be war?"
Li Shuishui said curiously, looking at the military trucks stopped ahead.
War?
The people in Class Five's eyes widened.
They were just freshmen who had recently undergone military training. Were they going to the battlefield to fight already? It couldn't be!
"No way, sending us rookies who are only halfway through training to the battlefield? That's just cannon fodder!"
"If it's about fighting, people like Gao Fei with real combat prowess would be the first wave to charge. We would only be logistics support!"
"Old Gao, don't you often run to the administrative building? Do you have any inside information? Give us a heads-up!"
Li Shuishui whispered to Gao Fei, who was running ahead.
But as soon as he finished speaking, he was met with an angry glare from Squad Leader Li Dong, causing him to shrink back into the ranks. The others also shut their mouths and stopped discussing.
Approaching the landing vehicles, Li Dong slowed down.
"Halt!"
Everyone stopped in unison in front of the military trucks.
The squad leader lowered the tailgate and shouted, "Everyone bring your equipment and quickly board!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Figures in army green quickly boarded the truck bed.
Gao Fei, who was the first to board, hadn't even stood steady when he saw two soldiers already waiting inside the truck.
Both wore combat uniforms, carried sophisticated equipment, and had camouflage paint on their faces, making their features indistinguishable for the moment.
Where did these people come from?
Gao Fei glanced at the two of them with confusion.
When their eyes met, their sharp gazes and the chilling aura they exuded sent a shiver down his spine.
Killing intent!
This was the first time he had felt the aura described in novels and movies.
These two soldiers had killed people!
Gao Fei quickly sat down, shifting his gaze to the side, no longer observing them.
After all the freshmen from Class Five had boarded and sat down, the squad leader and the two soldiers handed out several bottles of camouflage paint.
"Apply it to your faces according to my demonstration!"
Li Dong opened a bottle of camouflage paint and began to apply it to his own face.
Soon, his entire face was covered with black, red, and green camouflage paint. At a glance, it was difficult to recognize him.
After the freshmen had all applied the camouflage paint, the military truck had already left the military zone.
A soldier raised his hand and pulled down the curtain at the back of the truck, and darkness quickly enveloped the truck bed.
Inside the truck, no one spoke, only the sound of breathing rose and fell.
Suddenly, the dim and silent truck bed became very oppressive.
The freshmen's mental states also began to shift.
Li Shuishui's breathing became heavier, and his heartbeat gradually accelerated.
Not only him, but the other freshmen in the truck were the same.
Only Gao Fei, who knew the inside story, leaned against the car wall, closed his eyes, and adjusted his state.
The truck drove out of the military region, and after about twenty minutes, the road began to become bumpy.
Light shone through the swaying curtain, and a few freshmen sitting nearby looked through the gaps.
They saw that the truck had entered an unfamiliar area. Behind them were winding mountain roads that were rapidly receding with the fast-moving vehicle.
Could it be that we are really going to the front lines to fight?
The few freshmen looking out the window shared the same question.
It wasn't that they were slow-witted or fantasizing.
It was the dim, oppressive, and serious atmosphere, coupled with Li Shuishui's earlier mention of war, that made them inevitably associate the words "going to the front lines to fight."
With a creak, the truck suddenly stopped.
"Get out!"
The squad leader lifted the curtain and jumped out of the truck, followed closely by the freshmen.
As soon as they landed, the blinding sunlight made all the freshmen squint and raise their hands to shield their eyes.
After they adapted, everyone noticed that they were in an unfamiliar environment.
Except for the open ground beneath their feet, the surroundings were all trees covered with dew.
And of the twelve military trucks, only six remained.
As the freshmen from the six classes wondered where they were, Company Commander Wu and the political instructor walked out of a temporarily erected tent in front.
"Silence!"
The political instructor said softly, and the scene immediately fell silent.
Company Commander Wu surveyed the more than one hundred freshmen with camouflage paint on their faces and said sternly, "Fellow students of Jingda University, you are both fortunate and unfortunate!
Fortunate, because you have the opportunity to participate in the military region's annual exercise. If you can achieve merits during the exercise, you will receive military commendations.
Unfortunate, because your training time is too short, and the hypothetical enemy in the exercise is two ace companies of the military region. To achieve merits during the exercise is extremely difficult, and to achieve victory is even harder."
Upon learning that it was a military exercise and not going to the front lines to fight, the freshmen breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they had not participated in military exercises, they had watched many documentaries about them during their two months in the army.
They weren't experts, but at least they knew the rules.
However, when they heard the commander say that the hypothetical enemy was two ace companies, everyone's faces froze.
The reconnaissance company and the sharpshooter company.
They had heard their squad leader mention them many times during training.
They spoke of how formidable the individual and team combat capabilities, as well as the marksmanship, of these two companies were!
Hearing that the hypothetical enemy was two ace companies at this moment was like throwing an egg against a rock!
The freshmen fell into a state of dead silence.
The exercise hadn't even begun, and they had already guessed the outcome.
After Company Commander Wu had given them a heads-up, he began to explain the purpose of this military exercise.
The sole objective of today's military exercise was to capture the rear positions of the blue team's occupied area.
During the infiltration and capture, they would be obstructed by the blue team's hypothetical enemies, who were the soldiers from the two ace companies.
After explaining the objective of the military exercise, the political instructor began his mobilization speech.
He stood at the front with a megaphone and said, "Fellow students, I understand how you feel. You are freshmen who have only trained for two months, yet you are facing soldiers from two ace companies. So you feel like you are throwing an egg against a rock.
But do not be afraid. Although the blue team consists of two ace companies, your side has soldiers from the special forces with rich combat experience."
Hearing the political instructor's words, the freshmen couldn't help but look at the people around them.
But they were all covered in camouflage paint, and they couldn't see any special forces soldiers.
However, they soon realized where they were!
Most likely, it was those two stoic soldiers they saw when boarding the truck.
"That's right, it's those two soldiers you saw when boarding the truck. They are special forces soldiers who have been to the front lines and fought in real combat!
Even if the blue team has two ace companies, with the special forces leading you in this exercise, I believe you will return victorious."
The political instructor shouted excitedly into the megaphone, "Now, do you have the confidence to win the battle?"
"Yes!"
Everyone shouted in unison.
"Do you have the confidence to achieve military merits in this exercise?"
"Yes!"
"Good, then go and beat the blue team's dog heads so badly that even their mothers won't recognize them! I believe you can do it!
Distribute ammunition, depart!"
Under the political instructor's mobilization, everyone regained their confidence.
Special forces soldiers!
These were figures only seen in novels and movies.
They never expected to have them lead them in battle today. The freshmen were full of spirit, shedding their earlier fear.
Re-boarding the trucks, they sped towards the exercise grounds.
Soon, the six trucks descended the mountain, and the trees around them became flatter.
Looking at the two stoic special forces soldiers in the truck bed, the freshmen felt excited, thrilled, and full of longing...
With the legendary special forces soldiers present, they were not afraid of anything!
Suddenly, a deafening roar sounded outside the truck.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions continued to erupt, and the six military trucks came to a rapid halt.
Gao Fei looked around. Outside the truck, flames blazed, dust billowed, and explosions continued incessantly.
"Holy shit, is Brother Yao playing this big?"
He had launched a royal flush right at the start!
Only now did he understand the surprise that Yao Qiang had mentioned.
The constantly detonating bombs around them were Major Yao's welcoming gift to all the freshmen!
"Everyone out of the truck, get down!"
A special forces soldier in the Class Five truck shouted.
Everyone responded, disembarked, and lay on the ground.
Watching the demolition scene, which was usually only seen on television, all the freshmen were stunned.
But they also understood one thing: the military exercise had officially begun!