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墨書 Inktalez
"Honestly, I’m not afraid of overcoming obstacles when the road is blocked by mountains or when bridges are needed over water. After all, I have a clear understanding of the situation and have practiced regularly. However, I have never dealt with the construction of a beachhead obstacle before, and I have no idea if the people below will manage it. It certainly can't be as simple as just placing something in the water.
That’s why the experts sent by the military district are especially important at this moment. I lifted the tent flap and stepped outside, only to find a Major in camouflage wearing glasses standing in front of me, frowning and looking rather aloof.
"You must be the expert sent from above?" I greeted him with a salute.
"Vice Platoon? Or Company Commander?" He didn’t answer my question but looked at my one stripe and two stars.
"Oh, I'm the Company Commander. Please come inside."
"What’s going on? There isn’t even a Battalion officer here?!" He seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
I patiently explained, "The responsible instructor went to pick up equipment; I'm temporarily in charge." This was true. According to regulations, if both the Company Commander and Instructor are absent, command authority follows the organizational sequence. The Deputy Battalion Commander has tuberculosis and couldn’t attend this special drill, so it naturally fell to me as the One Continuous Long.
"Oh, the equipment hasn’t arrived yet?!" The Major glanced around.
"Yes, would you like to come in and sit?"
The Major hesitated for a moment, peering into the tent before asking in surprise, "How can we sit without chairs?"
We exchanged glances; was this guy serious? Can’t he sit on the ground?
The Major looked at us and said, "I’ll wait here for your leader to return." I shrugged; there was nothing more I could do.
At that moment, Xuanhua came over with his class carrying a box.
"Company Commander, we’ve received blank rounds based on headcount!" Xuanhua said excitedly.
Wow, getting blank rounds is that exciting?
I walked over and opened one of the boxes to take a look. As soon as I opened it, several height rounds scattered out, leaving me stunned. They had projectiles?!"
“Blank Round!?” I turned to ask, “Xuanhua, are you sure this isn’t a mistake? This isn’t Blank Rounds!”
Xuanhua replied with a hint of grievance, “I thought so too, but they insist it is!”
I picked one up and examined it closely. It was indeed different from the ones we had received before. The Blank Rounds issued by Drill only had a primer and no projectile; the opening was star-sealed. Those Blank Rounds fired gas and were only lethal at very close range, making them quite safe. However, this type definitely had a projectile at the front, though the material was rather unusual—not metallic.
I couldn’t help but exclaim, “What the hell! This is strange; aren’t they worried about accidents with these projectile rounds?”
Glasses walked over to take a look and scoffed, “This is Blank Rounds, specifically for Drill.”
We all looked at him in confusion. He adjusted his glasses and said, “Get a gun to check it out.”
I exchanged glances with Xuanhua, who handed over his 81-1 rifle. Glasses was taken aback. “You guys still use this? Isn’t it supposed to be the 95 model?”
We were all shocked into silence; no one responded to him. He had no choice but to pick up the gun himself and inspected the barrel. “Well, you see, you don’t have a muzzle brake. Hmm, I guess there wasn’t enough time to issue those, so they gave you these Blank Rounds instead. These Blank Rounds have projectiles made of special materials that disintegrate upon firing; they’re safe beyond five meters. With these Blank Rounds, your guns can fire continuously. Got it?”
We nodded slowly, half-understanding. Glasses looked down on us with disdain, as if he were an urbanite looking at country folk. Damn it, I felt a bit irritated at being looked down upon without realizing it.
Xuanhua added, “Up top, we’re not a combat unit; we only received two basic units per person for distribution. The Vehicle Company and Technical Company didn’t get any.”
I turned and called out to Zhang Sheng, “Tell your squad to help distribute as well.”
I opened every box for inspection and surprisingly found one box in the last container filled with smoke grenades, flares, signal flares, and a Signal Gun. Well, that was unexpected! I just wondered if Drill would take them back after it ended.
I had Sheng Xiong move the box to my Company Headquarters for safekeeping while I arranged tasks for distribution. At this moment, Old Tang went to check on the water and food supplies while I started chatting with several squad leaders; Glasses stood awkwardly by himself.
Of course, due to his overwhelming sense of superiority, no one bothered to engage him. He remained standing there until the Instructor returned.
The Instructor came back with half of the Technical Company personnel in tow, carrying large boxes. As he reached the tent entrance and spotted Glasses, he immediately saluted and approached him for a handshake. “You must be the expert sent down from the military district? Leader, thank you for your hard work.”
Glasses said with a hint of restraint, "Well, well, have the equipment been retrieved?"
Instructor frowned and replied, "A portion has been retrieved, and two large trucks will follow. After the drill, we will collect everything to take back to the unit."
"Yes, this is what has been allocated to you. In the future, we will calculate the loss rate every year and provide replacements," Glasses said in a familiar tone.
"But, Comrade Expert, we won't be able to use any of this!" Company Commander casually opened a box, revealing dark, spiky items inside. At that moment, the light had dimmed, and I couldn't see clearly.
"That's alright; I will guide you on how to use them. This is also an opportunity for you to experiment and practice. Remember, you must continue to practice diligently once you return," Glasses spoke with an air reminiscent of a Military District Commander.
Pah! If every Military District Commander were so high and mighty, we would surely lose this drill. I thought to myself.
All the equipment had been retrieved, and Old Tang reported that food and water were ready. Company Commander came by again to check on the preparations and left looking somewhat satisfied.
My Company Headquarters tent was designated by Instructor as a temporary command post. The Technical Company had set up communication radios, which were already on encrypted channels. Each participating unit was testing their connections in a tense yet orderly atmosphere of preparation for battle.
At 7 PM, radio calls began. The higher-ups ordered our unit to set off first. On the way to b Point, there were two rivers; one was long and deep enough that tanks could not cross it without a Floating Bridge. We had to complete the bridge by 1 AM so that the main force could follow us to the pre-set position at the Beachhead.
After receiving the order, Instructor commanded everyone to pack up their gear and prepare to depart.
It was getting darker, but the sound of engines roared around us. This was good; nighttime movement would minimize detection. Thus, units rushed toward their respective combat positions.
Due to Jinghe having loaded many supplies onto their vehicle, Pudding naturally settled into my driver's cabin again. With so many people around, no one noticed Pudding. As battle loomed closer, Pudding remained unfazed, munching on snacks given by Jinghe.
Life as an animal is good—carefree and worry-free. I thought as I watched Pudding driving the vehicle. I wondered what Old Bi was doing outside in the dark night; the road wasn't great with rolling hills and sporadic rain starting to fall. I rolled up the window and leaned back in my seat; surprisingly, I dozed off amidst the bumps of the vehicle.
I woke up abruptly when the driver slammed on the brakes. He smiled apologetically and said, "The vehicle in front stopped suddenly; it's hard to manage headlights at night when following too closely."
"It's fine," I replied as I pushed open the door and jumped down. The lead vehicle ahead belonged to Instructor. What had happened?
The rain had stopped, and the Instructor had already gotten off the vehicle. I stole a glance back, noticing that the Eyewear Expert was still asleep in the back seat, lying down. How tired must he be to sleep through all this bumpy travel!
Hearing footsteps, the Instructor called out without turning his head, "Company Commander, it's your turn now."
I turned on the Flashlight and looked in the direction the Instructor was pointing. Sure enough, there was a river ahead. The Flashlight couldn't reach that far, so I shouted for Sheng Xiong to notify everyone to disembark and prepare to build a bridge.
At that moment, the illumination flares came in handy. I asked Sheng Xiong to bring me the Signal Gun and fired a shot diagonally across to the other side. Instantly, the night was illuminated! It was as bright as day. I marveled at it; this was my first time using an illumination flare. Everything on the other side became clear. It was a river measuring about twenty meters wide—not too difficult. Just as I was about to instruct everyone to proceed with standard operations, an idea struck me. For safety's sake, I decided to build an underwater bridge.
Honestly, even though the Instructor was present and held command authority, I still needed to make decisions regarding professional matters myself. I called over several Squad Leaders and began assigning tasks by the riverside under the headlights of our vehicle.
When they heard we were going to build an underwater bridge, everyone looked confused at first. It would take some effort, but time was tight; constructing an underwater bridge would inevitably be more time-consuming. I chuckled and said, "Since this is a drill, we should treat it like a real battle. We must prepare for the worst-case scenario. By building an underwater bridge, our enemy won't be able to detect it from aerial reconnaissance. Even if the Red Army chooses this point for landing and manages to breach our defenses here, when they reach this river—which is over ten kilometers long—they will find that the underwater bridge is hidden beneath two or three feet of water. Without our guidance, it will be difficult for them to quickly locate the bridge surface, thus buying us some time for a counterattack." The officers nodded in agreement.
The Third Squad Leader scratched his head and asked, "But what about our people coming over later? They won't be able to find it either."
I laughed and scolded him playfully, "You fool! You’ll stay here with Twelfth Class to guide the incoming troops across. Remember! All units must be in position by 1 PM tomorrow noon. After 1 PM, your tasks are twofold: First, eliminate any traces—don’t let anyone see signs of a large force crossing here. Second, guard this area; without my Secret Order, anyone trying to cross back over will face dire consequences!" I made a gesture across my throat.
At that moment, the Third Squad Leader looked at me in confusion and asked, "What Secret Order?"
(To be continued; more exciting developments tomorrow!)
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