The seasoned special forces soldiers, having weathered the storms of war, would never surrender easily in either military drills or on the front lines.
They continued to retaliate from behind cover, with one soldier drawing fire while another swiftly eliminated the Blue Team members. Even if 'killed,' they aimed to take two or three Blue Team members down with them.
Soon, only seven soldiers remained from the special forces detachment, including the lone freshman, Gao Fei. Da Wei and five other soldiers had fallen. Meanwhile, for every batch of Blue Team soldiers eliminated, others stepped up to reassert their suppressive fire.
Snake Team calmly fired two shots from behind cover before retreating. He signaled to the remaining soldiers on his right flank, and they immediately produced pre-prepared dummy grenades, pulling the pins and holding them tight.
As Snake Team's signal fell, Gao Fei and his team hurled all the grenades towards the right.
*Puff! Puff! Puff!*
The grenades landed with dull thuds, emitting white smoke. The right flank, the weaker point of the encirclement, was instantly 'annihilated.'
"Go!"
Snake Team grabbed Gao Fei and they swiftly dodged towards the right, breaking through the encirclement. The remaining three members of Spider Team emerged from cover, firing rapidly to buy them time and cover their retreat.
The battle was fluid, and the four breaking through dispersed into two groups, disappearing into the jungle. As over ten Blue Team soldiers closed in, the Spider Team members dropped their rifles, revealed explosives hidden beneath their uniforms, and pulled the detonators.
Yellow smoke erupted from the three men. Spider looked at Snake Team and Gao Fei, who had already entered the woods, and grinned at the approaching soldiers, "Sorry, everyone, you're all dead, so you can't chase anymore!"
As he spoke, Yao Qiang, who was approaching, waved off the disgruntled soldiers from the reconnaissance and sharpshooter companies, "Follow the rules of the drill!" The dozen or so soldiers, though still unsatisfied, complied and lowered their weapons.
"Don't look so glum. You've taken down eight special forces members, be content with that!" Yao Qiang shouted cheerfully, then turned to the Spider Team, "Not bad, Xiao Zhu and the others. You haven't slacked off in six or seven years; you can still take a whole group down with you when you 'die'."
"It's all thanks to your excellent teaching, Instructor Yao."
"Who led your team?"
"Instructor, I'm dead, and the dead cannot speak!"
"Good lad!" Yao Qiang patted his shoulder, instructed the platoon leader to escort the fallen personnel off the field, and then led another group to continue the pursuit.
...
On the right flank breakthrough, in the jungle about five hundred meters away.
Gao Fei and Snake Team moved through the undergrowth, leaping over hollows, fleeing rapidly forward. Hearing the pursuit behind them, Snake Team glanced at the small river ahead and quickly asked, "Xiao Gao, can you climb trees?"
"Yes!"
"You climb that tree now. I'll jump into the river to draw them away!" Snake Team took a deep breath, then continued, "The instructors are leading them. It won't be easy to escape their grasp. And you're the only freshman left. As long as they don't catch you before 9 PM, the freshman team wins. Climb the tree!"
Gao Fei didn't waste words and quickly ascended a lush, large tree. Snake Team placed his backpack on his chest, picked up his rifle, and began to move around the surrounding grass and branches, simulating the trajectory of jumping into the river.
*Plop!*
A splash of water erupted, and the figure quickly disappeared beneath the surface. About twenty seconds later, the pursuing Blue Team soldiers arrived. Yao Qiang stood by the riverbank, scanned the surroundings, and said to the Blue Team soldiers beside him, "Split into two groups, follow the river, and be sure not to get separated. Stick together and capture him."
"Yes!" Soon, the soldiers vanished along the riverbank.
Gao Fei, lying on the tree, held his breath, glanced at the departing Blue Team soldiers, and remained motionless. After about five minutes, sure that no one was around, he slowly began to climb down.
"Damn it, Lao Yao must have guessed I'd use my hacker skills to infiltrate the command center and check the strategic deployment!" Gao Fei muttered as he descended. Recalling the trap from earlier, he was certain that Lao Yao had exploited his knowledge of his hacking abilities to set up a double ambush on the hillside.
"This sly fox, he underestimated me! I shouldn't have hacked into the Blue Team's command network!" Gao Fei grumbled and jumped down from the tree.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his backpack from behind, and a voice said simultaneously, "Kid! Is it a bit too late to regret it now!"
Gao Fei's eyes widened in shock, and his hair stood on end. *Damn it, I thought this sly fox had left...* He slowly turned his head, bared his teeth, and grinned, "Oh, Brother Yao, what a coincidence!"
"Indeed, quite a coincidence! You..." Before Yao Qiang could finish, Gao Fei suddenly bent down and darted away.
*Swish!*
Before he could run more than a few steps, a whistling sound came from behind. A military knife firmly embedded itself into the tree trunk to his left.
"I still have a knife. Come back with me obediently!"
Gao Fei slowly turned around, looked at Major Yao, who was walking towards him with a knife in hand, and without a word, clenched his fist and charged.
"Good lad!" Yao Qiang let out a hearty laugh and met his punch with his own. Instantly, the two began to grapple. Gao Fei blocked Yao Qiang's right fist with his left hand, leaned forward, and slammed his elbow into the opponent's chest.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The sounds of fighting rose and fell, and the two had already exchanged five or six moves. Seeing that he couldn't subdue the other man immediately, Yao Qiang's eyes showed a hint of surprise. He hadn't expected this kid to be so skilled. Moreover, the techniques weren't from free combat or military training; they were moves he had never seen before. Every strike was both insidious and vicious, targeting vital points. If not for his quick reflexes, he would have been in trouble. Where did this kid learn such boxing?
Gao Fei was also surprised by Yao Qiang's reflexes and physical strength. He had used the eighteen moves of the Black Dragon, feedback from the simulator, to exchange blows for six or seven moves, and Old Yao had blocked them all. In his previous life, the eighteen moves of the Black Dragon were lethal techniques.
*Bang!*
With a dull thud, the two suddenly stopped fighting. Gao Fei held a dagger, wiped the blood from his face, and said with a smile, "Old Yao, you lost. You're dead!"
"Is that so? Look down!" He looked down. He saw that Yao Qiang also held a dagger in his left hand, pressed against his lower abdomen. The final result was a mutual injury!
As the fight subsided, several figures emerged from the surroundings. They had been ambushing for a long time. Most of them were from the Blue Team, along with some special forces soldiers from the Special Forces Brigade who had already been 'killed' and were about to be escorted off the training ground.
Looking at the two standing their ground, everyone's gaze fell on Gao Fei. The Blue Team members hadn't expected that they had only heard about Gao Fei's excellent skills before. Now, seeing it firsthand, and him even being able to fight Major Yao to a draw, they figured no one among the new recruits could match him. As for Da Wei, Spider, and the others from the Special Forces Brigade, their eyes widened in shock. They hadn't expected that the lone freshman who had been following them all along possessed such terrifying skills. Who was Yao Qiang? He was the most formidable instructor in the Special Forces Brigade for the past decade. They never imagined that this lone freshman could fight Instructor Yao to a draw.
Yao Qiang noticed the eyes around him and looked at Gao Fei, who had retracted his dagger. "You kid, it would be great if you could join the army! With these skills, you'd definitely win the military martial arts competition. What a shame!"
"Brother Yao, do I seem like someone who cares about fame and recognition? I..."
"First prize for winning the championship!"
"I… I…" Gao Fei opened his mouth, sighed, and stopped talking. Seeing his speechless expression, Yao Qiang felt pleased and shouted to the Blue Team, "Take him back to the command center. The drill is almost over!"
But as his voice fell, Gao Fei next to him chuckled mysteriously.
"What are you laughing at, kid?" Yao Qiang asked, puzzled.
Gao Fei blinked his eyes and put on a roguish smile, "Old Yao, you think the drill is really over? I still have a big surprise for you!"