"Should I have the First and Second Formations show off their maneuvers in front of them? Or let them go up to set an example for the soldiers and give them something big to aspire to?"
Captain Lao had only hesitated and pondered for a moment before the shuttle-shaped craft in the sky looked ready to touch down.
"Could this thing really have something funky about it, like Han Qingyu said? What if I didn't catch it and there's actually a Red Shoulder or something hiding inside?
"Forget it. I'd better seize this chance to command a super combat power again. Who knows when the next time will be."
At that thought, Captain Lao picked up his communicator. "Wu Xu!"
"Mm... here," Wu Xu's voice came through the communicator.
"Go up and force them out!"
"Okay... yes, sir."
Wu Xu stood up, gripping the Binggu Spear.
The reason he chose Wu Xu instead of Han Qingyu was that Lao Jian knew them too well. That guy Han Qingyu was not easy to order around; four years ago he was already running all over the place carrying a spaceship on his shoulders. By comparison, even though Wu Xu rarely spoke, he was always rigorous and dependable in everything he did.
"Everyone watch closely, and learn what you can..." This time Captain Lao didn't use the communicator. Lying prone, he turned around and whispered to the squad members behind him, "In a bit, keep your eyes glued to those metal blocks, you hear me? Otherwise, mark my words, they'll vanish before you even know what happened."
As Captain Lao said this, he recalled back then.
It was when he was the captain of another Azure squad, meeting the country boy Han Qingyu for the first time in a place called Fenglong'ao.
To this day, Lao Jian had never actually seen Han Qingyu swallow a metal block directly, but thinking back, if anyone tried to claim the disappearance of that metal block back then had nothing to do with Han Qingyu, he wouldn't believe it for a second.
Meanwhile, behind the bushes in the distance, the logistics personnel and guests who were spectating also began pointing and chattering excitedly.
"It's Lieutenant Wu Xu!"
"Yeah, we finally get to watch Great Spikes get chopped down—and by a super combat power at that!"
Under the eyes watching from near and far, the craft descended to the treetops.
The snapping and splintering of bending branches rang out.
Wu Xu glanced back at Lao Jian, seeing that Lao Jian was talking to the other squad members and had no new orders for him... So Wu Xu walked over, stopping right in front of the shuttle craft that had just touched down.
Lao Jian turned his head back. "...Ahem, don't copy this. Wait for Lieutenant Wu Xu to force them out..."
*Clang!*
Holding the black Binggu Spear one-handed and swinging it horizontally, Wu Xu tapped once on the "unopened" hull of the shuttle craft.
"Don't copy this either," Captain Lao said woodenly.
Faintly hearing the captain speak, Wu Xu looked back at him.
"You... do whatever you want, as long as you force the Great Spikes out," Lao Jian waved a hand.
*Clang!*
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
Finally—*psssht, whoosh!*
The top of the craft opened, and two black-armored Great Spikes began ejecting...
"Here they come! Prepare to attack!" Captain Lao shouted.
*Shhk...!*
Wu Xu turned his head and looked at Captain Lao.
By this time, his right hand was gripping the Binggu Spear, the black spear pointing diagonally upward above the top of the craft, skewering two thrashing black-armored Great Spikes.
Just now, the instant they ejected, Wu Xu had suddenly heard the captain call for an attack, so he thrust out his spear and skewered them right at the ejection port like kebabs.
Their eyes met; Wu Xu looked a little awkward.
Of course, those two Great Spikes weren't dead yet. Once they tore free from the spear, they would still retain their combat capability; their vitality was many times more tenacious than a human's.
"...You, just kill them."
Captain Lao was completely numb.
Only after taking a moment to recover did he turn back around, look at the squad members behind him with a solemn face, and say, "Keep standard battlefield operating procedures firmly in mind. Do not learn any of this."
...The Great Spikes died.
Wu Xu hacked one to death, and He Tangtang hacked the other to death. Tangtang was in great need of a fight right now.
Then the corpses began to self-destruct, and the shuttle-shaped craft self-destructed...
A rain of shrapnel whizzed in all directions. Most of the onlookers watching from the distance had already evacuated ahead of time.
"Move in! Grab—search for metal blocks!" Without daring to wait for the shrapnel rain to stop completely, Captain Lao issued the order a step early, and all the squad members burst forward at high speed into the field.
"Found one, Captain Lao!" a member shouted excitedly.
"I found one too! It's huge this time!" another yelled.
"I've got one here as well." That made three.
When the squad members brought over the "metal blocks" they had found one after another, Lao Jian held them and looked at them, bewildered. "Are these metal blocks?"
"My gold bars!"
Hu Biaomao was on the verge of tears.
"Do Great Spikes use gold bars now?"
Captain Lao pondered how on earth he should write the report to his superiors.
…………
What was likely the easiest defensive mission in the history of Squad 1777 ended just like that. Aside from the gold bars, no mishaps had occurred.
The guests and logistics staff who had returned to the encampment early stood gazing into the distance, waiting. Seeing the squad members finally return, they rushed forward all at once. They had a great deal they wanted to say, especially the logistics staff.
Meanwhile, the simple setup for the performance on the review stand was also complete.
"Hey, where are they?" Yang Wudong searched through the crowd, failing to find not only Han Qingyu and his group, but also Lao Jian and the old army commander.
"Gone," Zhao Erzhu said.
"What did you say?!" Nie Xiaozhen shoved past the crowd and stepped to the front, asking with involuntary anger.
Zhao Erzhu flustered for a moment and looked at her. "I said... Major Qing and the others left. They went to kill Alphonse. They took a detour to the back mountain along the way."
"Oh... good, then. We were going to chase him off once the performance started anyway."
Nie Xiaozhen lowered her head, turned, and walked toward the propaganda troupe members.
At the same time, Qi Rourou quietly stepped away from the ranks and returned to the equipment room. She took the old phoenix coronet she had brought out and wiped clean right before going on the mission, put it back into its box, and locked it away.
*Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump...*
From the direction of the back mountain came the faint sound of heavy helicopter rotors turning.
At the cabin door, Lao Jian patted Han Qingyu hard on the chest and said, "Wear this. Remember, no matter what, all of you must come back alive."
With that, he turned away.
"Thank you, Captain." Han Qingyu looked down at the additional squad leader star insignia pinned to his chest.
This squad leader star insignia was something Lao Jian had actually been waiting to pin on him with his own hands all along. Three years ago, he had thought to hand it over once the squad returned from the plateau, but he had ended up waiting from three years ago until today.
"Grandpa, I'm heading out! Take care of yourself, and don't go running around all over the place!" An iron-clad arm waved from the back row.
"Don't worry," Shen Fengting waved as well. His gaze lingered on his granddaughter for a moment before turning toward Han Qingyu.
Only when the helicopter lifted off the ground and the cabin doors were about to close did the old man speak again, calling out loudly:
"Thank you! Thank you for looking after Xiuxiu, and for teasing her... If one day I pass away, Xiuxiu will be in your hands... Shen Fengting entrusts her to you!"
…………
The helicopter gained altitude, appearing in the sight of everyone on the training ground.
Then its tail swung in midair as it banked, flew off into the distance, and vanished.
"That kid! How could he not even say he'd go home first to see his parents?" Yang Wudong muttered. Seeing Lao Jian and Shen Fengting returning from the back mountain, he immediately said, "I thought they'd head home first..."
Was that right? Han Qingyu hadn't gone home. Lao Jian knew very well how homesick he was, how much he missed his parents.
"Maybe because after what happened today, he doesn't dare give Alphonse any more time to keep breathing," Lao Jian said through gritted teeth after some thought.
"Or perhaps because he wants to make sure he comes back alive," Shen Fengting said from the side.
…………
The helicopter was flying over mountain ridges, seven people packed together inside, heading west and south.
"Since we shouted 'for all who are breathing' again after all, then it's time to put an end to Alphonse's breath."
Chapter 562