Chapter 55: Brothers. Homeland. Special Operations Company

The next day, Zhanxiage didn't open his eyes all day. He was truly exhausted. After repeatedly pushing past his life limits, his body had instinctively entered a state of self-regulation. When Zhao Haiping fed Zhanxiage the leftover half-helmeted snake soup, he instinctively opened his mouth, slowly swallowing the essence and power of life into his stomach.
This day was definitely the most difficult and toughest day of Zhao Haiping's life.
Zhao Haiping had to constantly move Zhan Xiaoge and his marching bag, making sure Zhan Xiaoge slept in the shade. He had to keep his eyes wide open and watch over Zhan Xiaoge carefully to prevent any poisonous snakes, scorpions, spiders, or other toys from biting him. He had to guard against enemies chasing them or if helicopters discovered them. Zhao Haiping gripped his AK automatic rifle, his big eyes wide and alert, patrolling the area.
Any slight disturbance, even the sound of a small stone rolling off a mountain peak in the distance, would make Zhao Haiping instinctively jump up, pressing his body directly onto Zhanxia Ge, then quickly raising the AK automatic rifle in his hand.
But fortunately, nothing happened that day, since searching for two people in the vast desert was no easy task.
The only surprise was that just as Zhao Haiping, equally exhausted and exhausted, finally couldn't help but doze off, a scorpion over two inches long quietly crawled to Zhan Xiaoge's side, seemingly showing great interest in his body.
The scorpion raised its tail, and just as it was about to stab its tail fiercely into Zhanxiage's body, Zhao Haiping, who had developed almost animal instincts on the battlefield, suddenly woke up. He opened his mouth wide, though he knew it was too late to do anything at this moment, but...... At that moment, Zhanxiage, who had been asleep, suddenly thrust out his right hand like lightning, grabbing the scorpion. Before its tail could stab his right hand, he casually tossed it again.
As Zhao Haiping's mouth opened in an "O" shape and he stared in shock, the scorpion that had failed to ambush Zhanxiage fled in disgrace.
"Get lost, I'm so damn annoyed! If you disturb my sleep again, I'll bury 120 mothballs next to your old nest, so you can taste what it's like to have no way to return home! ”
Saying words that left Zhao Haiping baffled, Zhanxiage seemed as if nothing had happened, muttering something under his breath. He turned and switched to a more comfortable movement, continuing to sleep soundly, leaving only Zhao Haiping, whose precious moisture kept seeping from his forehead, and he would never dare to nap or slack off again.
But the next night, Zhao Haiping fell asleep clutching his rifle again.
Even as Zhao Haiping fell asleep, his eyes remained wide open. That night, a new moon slowly rose, and when the silver moonlight shone on his face, his pupils shimmered with two silver streams of dreamlike light. In this vast world, he seemed like a deity who had existed between heaven and earth since Pangu created heaven and earth, loyally guarding his calling and mission!
Whether it was Zhan Xia Ge or Zhao Haiping, they were both exhausted, utterly exhausted.
On the third day, the rising sun cast warm waves over Zhao Haiping's eyes. Zhao Haiping was startled awake, and just as he jumped up to change the angle of the war hero, he was met by a pair of open, clear, and transparent eyes.
These were slightly reddened, strong, wise, proud, and deeply laced with a strange emotion—truly extraordinary eyes!
Zhao Haiping stared into these eyes, separated only two days ago, as if touched by the world's separation. He called out with mixed joy, "Master, you're awake?!" ”
"Yes, I'm awake!" Zhanxiage looked at the weary-looking Zhao Haiping and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work, my brother!" ”
Zhao Haiping felt an almost uncontrollable urge rise in his heart, making him wish he could laugh out loud three times, grab the AK automatic rifle in his arms, and fire into the sky to pour out his joy at this moment!
But Zhao Haiping still forced himself to suppress his excitement and corrected himself: "No, Zhanxiage is my master, I am your disciple!" ”
The smile on Zhanxiage's face grew even wider. He laughed and said, "Alright, then, thank you, my disciple brother!" ”
At the Fifth Special Forces Elite Training School, General Zheng Xun stared at the laser screen directly connected to China's strategic military satellite. On the screen, two tattered boys were tightly embracing each other, patting each other's shoulders hard. Although they faced the vast desert before them and over two hundred terrorists behind them wished they could tear them apart, they were all smiling!
Their eyes were smiling, their faces were smiling, their mouths were smiling, their hands were smiling, and even behind them, the still bright Iron-Blood Battle Flag still fluttering in the wind seemed to be smiling too!
General Zheng Xun must admit that he was moved by the two big boys, Zhanxiage and Zhao Haiping. He was moved by the scars on their faces and the sincere smiles on their faces—the brotherhood that belongs only to fighting side by side and facing life-and-death trials together!
General Zheng Xun glanced sideways at Instructor Zhang Xiangshang, who was standing tall and had been promoted to colonel, and asked, "What do you think?" ”
"They can't die!"
Instructor Zhang Xiangshang said frankly, "The biggest trait of that punk Zhanxiage is that no matter what he does, he always does it a hundred times more enthusiastically than others!" He led Zhao Haiping to fight guerrilla warfare in the southern mountains of Russia for fifty days, eliminating more than two companies of terrorists. He truly enjoyed glory and pride on the world stage! And the group of shady friends he formed in the 'Special Service Company' of the 136th Group Army were a group of troublemakers who sought to stir up trouble. It was one thing for them to manage to scrape together over 100 million dollars for Zhan Xiage, the company commander, within forty-eight hours, but who knows how they suddenly came up with a huge bounty announcement for mercenary groups worldwide! With a huge cash sum of 100 million US dollars sitting there, even if you say that Zhanxiage and Zhao Haiping's actions in Russia were purely personal actions, probably no one would believe it! If they were truly hunted down by terrorists and then pulled off some kind of flawing stunt in front of the media, we Chinese soldiers would lose all face! ”
Hearing Colonel Zhang Xiangshang mention the 136th Group Army's "Special Service Company," even General Zheng Xun couldn't help but shake his head and smile wryly. Perhaps they were originally a group of ignorant and incompetent people, only knowing how to indulge in eating, drinking, and causing trouble. But after six years of accumulation, who would dare underestimate this group that was already lawless? Now they have joined forces and are fully developing in their respective fields, becoming a force that faintly wields the terrifying momentum of a princeling faction that can turn clouds and rain with a flick of the hand?!
Just for one emergency gathering meeting, these hundred-plus members of the "Special Service Company" deployed eighteen helicopters, four fighter jets, and two trainer planes! Some jumped out of fighter jets and flew directly into the city district using paragliders; Some people ignored repeated warnings from the local government and garrison, shouting wildly, 'I want to go in, I want to land,' If you have guts, shoot me down with anti-aircraft guns,' and forcibly drove an armed helicopter into the city; someone who was participating in an army exercise received a notice from Special Service Company instructor Huang Zhipeng, so he grabbed a full barrel of gasoline and threw it into a jeep, grabbed two packs of individual rations, and didn't even remove the 7.62mm heavy machine gun mounted on the off-road jeep, swaggering through the exercise area in a field jeep.
"The biggest problem now is that this hundred million dollar bounty, plus that John Mitchell nicknamed 'Battlefield Golden Retriever' stirring things up. Zhan Xiagege and Zhao Haiping have already been watched by the global media!"
Colonel Zhang Xiangshang said this, a trace of helplessness appeared on his face, and he said, "Now, besides us, there are at least twenty national TV stations around the world, directly using various channels to connect with government channels, renting strategic military satellite channels, and broadcasting them live 24/7. Now the two of them have run into the vast desert without any cover. Not only is it their battle with terrorists, but even their eating, dressing, sleeping, and sleepwalking are watched day and night by nearly 500 million viewers through TV and the internet. ”
500 million viewers!
Hearing this figure, even General Zheng Xun, who was always calm and unfazed by Mount Tai, couldn't help but hold his forehead and sigh helplessly.
China's Fifth Special Forces have always acted low-key. To maintain secrecy, they even have only a physical structure and no unit designation. It is precisely through a series of extremely strict confidentiality systems and codes of conduct that China's Fifth Special Forces, a world-class elite special forces, have remained lurking underwater on the global stage. Even if foreign intelligence organizations learned through special channels that there was a mysterious Fifth Special Forces unit in China, without any evidence of their involvement, it would not attract enough attention.
But after the drama of Zhanxia Ge, a powerful star with hundreds of millions of super "fans," who has claimed the land and demarcated boundaries, the day when China's Fifth Special Forces, this super force, emerges on the world stage is probably not far off!
Colonel Zhang Xiangshang, who had been fully responsible for handling the war hero's battle between Russia and Chechen rebels, handed General Zheng Xun an enlarged photo with a strange expression. General Zheng Xun only glanced at the photo. This old general, with silver hair and over seventy, had long seen through life and death, was about to step down as principal of the Fifth Special Forces Elite Training School and was preparing to retire at home. The old general of the Republic suddenly widened his eyes in fright.
From an artistic perspective, this is a very beautiful, even very aesthetic photograph.
A full moon shines like silver, pouring its silver-white light generously onto the desert known as the cliff of life. On the vast, boundless desert, even the grains of sand were bathed in a silvery white layer by the moonlight, all glowing, and it seemed as if a nearly fantastical light and atmosphere rose between heaven and earth. The stars, as numerous as grains of grain in the Ganges, faintly shone, and countless sky lanterns were lit across the vast sky.
This overhead photo fully and authentically presents to every viewer the beauty and desolation of the desert at night in the vast sandstorm. And in this beautiful yet cold world, the one who makes it most impossible to look away, and what suddenly stirs an irresistible shock and emotion, is still him!
He was probably in the middle of a comfortable sand bath on the sand still warmed by the sun, taking off all his clothes, exposing his nearly 190-centimeter-tall, mountain-like figure and explosive power to the cold desert wind.
The muscles on his body, which didn't require deliberate force but naturally bulged, looked just like a statue of Apollo, the sun god—hard and beautiful, carrying an aura that absolutely could not be underestimated. Moonlight gently poured over him, and his entire skin glowed with a faint silver glow. Within this silver glow, the streaks and patches were the glorious medals left by a man who fought fiercely on the battlefield.
These wounds included severe bayonet wounds, bullet wounds, shrapnel slip marks, and some tiny, dense scars that even he probably didn't know how they were made. These scars and bullet scars were densely packed and scattered, creating an absolutely unconventional masculine charm on him, one that could make any woman's eyes widen and her heart race.
Although this photo only shows a half-side view of his back, and his face is covered in camouflage paint, General Zheng Xun can still be instantly recognized. This photo has already been exposed twice, barely revealing the most important unit, yet it is already faintly visible, making it even more irresistible. The subject of the photo is none other than the war chivalrous song of the Fifth Special Forces, who is the most troublemaker, the most capable of causing trouble, and the most capable of causing big trouble!
General Zheng Xun cautiously asked, "Where did you find this photo?" ”
"From the internet!"
Colonel Zhang Xiangshang replied with a bitter smile, "Our acting squad leader Zhanxiage was completely unaware. This photo was taken at night while giving himself a 'sand bath' with hot sand, captured by a military satellite. It was uploaded in just twenty-four hours, and its online views and downloads have already exceeded 700 million!" ”
"The only good thing that Zhan Xia Ge did was sacrifice his own body to forcibly change the Western public's decades-long perception of Chinese soldiers as 'barbaric,' 'rude,' and 'dark and ugly.' For a time, nicknames like 'sexy Chinese soldier,' 'China's Apollo god,' and 'the most perfect sexual partner of this century' were all mixed up on the internet and in Western newspapers. It's said that someone has even formed the 'I Love Chinese Soldiers' alliance. Now, the number of crazy girls signing up for this alliance via the internet and phone has exceeded 500,000, and the number of participants is steadily increasing at tens of thousands per hour! In the gambling city of Las Vegas, the biggest casino owner has already opened a betting arena, betting that with both the Chinese and Russian military remaining on the sidelines, how many days can Zhan Xiagege and Zhao Haiping survive in the desert? A bet is on whether they can escape alive! This attracted a large number of gamblers to Zhan Xiagege and Zhao Haiping, who shouted wildly in front of the bar's TV every day. ”
General Zheng Xun glanced at Zhang Xiangshang and asked, "The Battle Hero Song was personally selected by you six years ago. You should know his personality and abilities very well." The current situation is obvious: the more dramatic the war heroic songs are, the less we can send reinforcements directly to Russia. What do you think, with no support at all, how many chances does Zhanxiage have of making it out of that desert alive? ”
"I really don't have any friends in Las Vegas, and besides, I'm a poor soldier. Not to mention that military regulations absolutely forbid gambling, even if I put all my savings into the air, I really can't come up with much money."
Zhang Xiangshang smiled and said, "But thinking about it is really tempting. Based on the gambling rate set by that casino owner, if I bet my money on Zhanxiage and Zhao Haiping and can make it out of the desert alive, my tens of thousands of yuan in wife capital could instantly turn into more than twenty rolls, turning into over a million in one go!" ”
At this point, Colonel Zhang Xiangshang and General Zheng Xun exchanged smiles. General Zheng Xun slowly exhaled and murmured to himself, "It's good to have come back alive!" ”
At the same time......
Huang Zhipeng mobilized all available funds from Xiangpeng Group, including his villa, car, and all shares owned by the company under his name, mortgaged them to the bank, directly auctioning them off for $23 million, throwing them in front of David Richkin, the wealthy Las Vegas casino owner who dared to gamble on his company commander's life.