Chapter 397: Real Combat, First

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Criminals are extremely vicious. I understand that most of you have no real experience in combat killings, but we are soldiers, and it is our duty to maintain the stability of our homeland and combat all criminal activities.

Just remember, when we eliminate one of these criminals, it’s like saving ten or even more lives.”

The eight members of the second platoon dispersed on both sides of the trail and swiftly moved through the jungle, following the traces left behind by the enemy. The enemies were not professionals, and their hasty escape had left clear traces. There was no need for the reconnaissance team to investigate too much; they could simply follow the tracks.

As they ran, the voice of Jiang Nan came through their earpieces.

As a platoon leader, during the pursuit, he didn’t forget to offer some guidance to his soldiers. After all, shooting at targets during training and using firearms in actual combat were two different things.

However, this wasn’t a problem for the reconnaissance team.

At least not now.

Everyone had seen the demeanor of Yan Wuming and his team just now. At this moment, not only was Wang Ye burning with anger, but everyone else also wanted to take down these criminals directly.

“Understood!”

“I know!”

More than one voice responded, and Wang Ye remained silent. At this moment, he didn’t want to divide his attention in any way.

While tracking along the trail, he carefully observed the surrounding environment, fearing that the enemy might split up and flee in different directions.

“Wang Ye!”

Suddenly, Jiang Nan’s voice came through the earpiece again.

“Platoon Leader, don’t worry, I understand!”

Wang Ye quickly replied.

“Well, that’s good. Don’t carry any psychological burden, and let’s continue to accelerate.”

The eight members of the second platoon were now traveling light, without backpacks, moving quickly to catch up with the enemy.

“Commander, we’ve located the targets, five of them. Please advise!”

“Warn them to stop!”

On the transport plane, the chief of staff had not disembarked. Wang Ye and his team had only just begun tracking when suddenly the voice came through the chief of staff’s communicator.

It was the voice of the pilot on the armed helicopter.

The WZ-9 attack helicopter was equipped with infrared reconnaissance mode.

Although it was broad daylight and the sun was beating down on the jungle, making infrared reconnaissance more challenging, the enemies were not professionals; they were just a group of reckless criminals. Despite the unfavorable conditions for infrared reconnaissance, their movement as a group made them stand out.

“This is the People’s Liberation Army. You have violated our country’s laws.

Please immediately drop your weapons and surrender…”

“This is…”

During the pursuit, Wang Ye and his team suddenly heard shouting from up ahead.

Switching between Chinese and English.

This made all eight of Wang Ye’s team members look up.

The jungle was dense with trees, and they couldn’t see the helicopter.

But soon, the voice of the chief of staff came through their earpieces.

“The targets have been located, but they have separated and are fleeing. 1 have instructed the helicopter to lock onto them. Now, I’m sending the transport plane to lower a rope ladder for you to cross over. Try to leave one of them alive!”

The weaponry system on the WZ-9, excluding missiles, included a 12.7mm caliber machine gun.

With this kind of firepower, there was practically no chance of leaving any of the targets alive if they engaged in combat.

However, the identities of the criminals who carried out this attack were still unclear.

If conditions allowed, it was best to keep one of them alive for interrogation.

So, after some consideration, the chief of staff decided to send his own reconnaissance team.

After all, Jiang Nan and his team had already arrived in the area and wouldn’t need much time to get into position.

“Yes!

Jiang Nan quickly responded.

He then shouted to Wang Ye’s team, “Let’s go over there!”

He pointed to a small clearing in the jungle ahead, where a helicopter could lower a rope ladder.

At the same time, a message popped up in Wang Ye’s mind.

“Mission Reminder: Combat crime, defend military honor. Mission Requirements: Capture or eliminate criminals. Mission Reward: Skill points equivalent to the number of mission targets!”

Wang Ye had not received any missions until now, and he hadn’t paid it much attention. But now, a mission suddenly appeared.

Wang Ye’s steps hesitated for a moment, but then he dismissed the thought.

Perhaps because there had been an armed helicopter present earlier, the system didn’t believe he had a chance to encounter any targets.

However, the chief of staff’s decision had changed the system’s assessment.

Regardless of whether there was a mission or not, Wang Ye’s mindset remained unchanged at this moment.

To take down those bastards, even if they needed to keep one alive, they would have to incapacitate him, leaving only a breath of life.

Following Jiang Nan to the open spot in the jungle.

They looked up at the sky.

Soon, the transport plane arrived.

The rope ladder was already down.

“Hurry, get on!”

Jiang Nan shouted.

The eight of them quickly grabbed the rope ladder and began to climb up.

But they didn’t get on the transport plane.

They were suspended on the rope ladder, holding onto it together. After the transport plane gained a bit of altitude, it started circling in the sky and headed towards the position of the armed helicopter that was still circling and broadcasting messages.

The distance wasn’t too far, probably less than two kilometers.

In the jungle, the fleeing enemies also had limited speed.

Mainly because Wang Ye and his team had urgently taken the helicopter to get here right after the incident.

Now, in the jungle, the five remaining flour smugglers had pale faces.

They were terrified.

There was no way around it. Just a moment ago, the armed helicopter had fired a burst of rounds at the ground to warn them, following the orders of the chief of staff.

Seeing the craters left behind by those rounds in the mountains, they were panicking.

Currently, even though they had separated, the armed helicopter was still circling overhead.

Deep despair welled up within them, and all five of them began to panic, taking any path they could find.

Soon, something even more despair-inducing happened.

Another, larger helicopter flew over, and on this helicopter, they could see a group of fully armed soldiers hanging from a rope.

In that moment, their sense of despair was nearly destroying their rationality.

They couldn’t fathom how a simple flour smuggling operation had escalated to the point where so many armed helicopters were chasing them.

Why was this happening?

Were the Chinese family this crazy? A minor incident on the border had led to a group of helicopters arriving so quickly.

They weren’t invading an army; they were just a few individuals engaged in criminal activities!

Hurry, send down the next two!”

The transport plane hovered and lowered its altitude slightly, and the two individuals at the bottom were released.

With the thermal imaging guidance from the armed helicopter, the remaining five individuals had no chance of escaping.

In fact, it wasn’t just the chief of staff’s desire to capture one of them for interrogation; at this point, they had no opportunity to continue running.

After the two at the bottom were dropped, the transport plane ascended once more.

Then, flying a few hundred meters, the second batch of two individuals was also released.

Wang Ye’s second platoon now consisted of only eight people, while there were five targets. The chief of staff ordered two of his men to deal with one of the targets, and the remaining one would be taken care of after they dealt with the four others while being monitored by the armed helicopter.

The third batch was also released, and Wang Ye was accompanied by the document officer.

“Just ahead of you. Remember, try to keep them alive. If they resist, you can use your firearms, but aim for their hands and feet to leave them alive.”

The chief of staff’s voice came through their earpieces.

He was directing the operation directly from the transport plane.

“Yes!

H

Wang Ye and the document officer responded and then exchanged glances. With a quick “let’s go” from the document officer, the two of them swiftly followed a clear trail through the jungle.

“Wang Ye, slow down, 1’11 go ahead!”

While running, the document officer shouted.

Wang Ye was moving too fast and had left him behind.

“It’s okay, I won’t be reckless when I see the target. Trust me!”

Wang Ye understood his concern.

He was worried about getting ahead and risking injury. After all, he had recently joined the reconnaissance team and, despite being a lieutenant, he was still considered a newcomer.

But there was no way Wang Ye could slow down at this moment.

He had been holding back his anger for too long, and he wanted to let it out.

In less than half a minute, Wang Ye spotted the figure of someone fleeing in panic through the jungle.

When they were dropped by the transport plane, they were not placed right next to their fleeing targets. After all, what if they started shooting at everyone when they were released?

So, when they were dropped, there was a distance of one or two hundred meters.

However, they had already run quite a distance, and their stamina was heavily depleted. Now, compared to Wang Ye, their speed was significantly slower.

“Stop, drop your weapons and surrender, or I’ll open fire!”

Although Wang Ye wanted nothing more than to remain silent and simply empty his magazine into the person’s head, he knew that as a military man, he had to follow the proper procedures and protocols.

In that moment, the person ahead panicked and turned to look back, raising his hand immediately.

“Be careful!” the document officer called from behind.

The next moment, instead of a pistol shot, there was a burst of gunfire from the Type 05 rifle.

Wang Ye had been prepared when he shouted the command. Seeing the person raise his hand, he didn’t hesitate at all and immediately pulled the trigger.

“Pu pu~”

Several rounds from the Type 05 rifle were fired.

“Bang!”

The figure in front of them crouched down, and then there was a “pop” as the pistol fired!

It turned out that the person’s gun had accidentally discharged after being hit.

However, even with this accidental gunshot, Wang Ye and the document officer both remained prone on the ground. They knew that in combat, every life counted, and they couldn’t afford to be careless.

“I’ve lowered the muzzle, be careful, he might still have the ability to resist!”

Wang Ye turned his head and quietly reminded the document officer hiding behind a tree.

Although he wanted nothing more than to take a direct shot to the head, the chief of staff had requested that they try to capture the person alive. So, Wang Ye controlled his urge to kill and instead fired a burst of seven or eight rounds, aiming for the person’s lower body.

In fact, even without Wang Ye saying a word, the document officer immediately knew that the person wasn’t dead yet. Because as soon as Wang Ye’s words fell, there was a piercing scream from the front.

“All! All-”

“Go!” Taking a deep breath, Wang Ye wasn’t frightened by the scream. He quickly moved to the side and jumped forward.

“All! Pop! Pop!”

In the jungle, the criminal had already rolled onto his back. With one hand on his wounded leg, he let out a painful scream. His eyes were bulging, bloodshot, and in his other hand, he held the pistol and fired wildly in the direction behind him.

He had completely lost his sanity.

Bullets flew all around, passing over Wang Ye’s head. He crawled forward without a hint of expression on his face.

“Be careful, wait for him to run out of bullets!” came the voice of the document officer through their earpieces, but he was a bit late in saying that.

By now, Wang Ye had already seen him. Seeing that he was no longer aiming in their direction with his pistol, Wang Ye raised his hand and fired a two-round burst.

At this point, Wang Ye and the criminal were only about ten meters apart. The two rounds hit their target accurately, and the man’s screams stopped abruptly.

Two shots: one to the right forearm and one to the right shoulder. They weren’t fatal shots, but they were like the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

The man who had been firing wildly while injured suddenly went silent, his screams drained of all strength.

Wang Ye kept his gaze fixed on the man and approached him, rising to his feet.

“Wang Ye, be careful!” came the footsteps from behind as the document officer arrived.

He was slower in both speed and reaction, so he hadn’t fired a shot yet. Of course, at this moment, no one was concerned about that.

Both of them could see that the man had been hit at least three or four times in each leg, once in the right arm, and once in the right shoulder.

He was no longer a threat.

However, at this point, Wang Ye still aimed at the man’s left hand, which was lying helplessly at his side, and fired another shot.

“To prevent any potential threat!” Wang Ye turned to the document officer and explained.

“I understand!” The document officer nodded.

The chief of staff had only requested that they leave the man alive, but to eliminate any potential threat, disabling both hands was the safest option.

Approaching the man, the document officer kicked away the pistol by his side, then crouched down to check the situation. He looked up at Wang Ye and said, “The target is no longer a threat; let’s report the situation.”

But upon hearing this, Wang Ye looked in another direction.

“You report; I’ll go support the platoon leader!” Wang Ye said, then turned and ran, not giving the document officer a chance to speak.

It had only been one encounter, and Wang Ye hadn’t yet released the pent-up anger he had been holding back..