A First Glimmer of Greatness
The first new chapter is finally about to open, and the hero’s Long River Squad is about to be born. Let us celebrate, and please show your support!
A thin mist drifted over the sea.
The Mediterranean was rarely this calm.
On the deck of the Jiangzhou, Lu Qian and Luo Yaocheng stood with furrowed brows, lifting their binoculars now and then to scan the southern waters. They had repeated this mechanical motion for nearly an hour.
“Report!”
A messenger soon appeared behind them.
“Headquarters has ordered the Jiangzhou to return at once!”
“What?”
At the news, Lu Qian’s expression changed at once.
“Old Lu, it looks like we were still a bit too reckless this time.”
Lu Qian said nothing, only nodded. The Americans’ operation had nothing to do with them directly, and the clash between the two sides had occurred only in a very limited area. Still, there had been casualties, and that would inevitably leave some impact.
Most important of all, neither side had found the people they were looking for. That was the key to this mission.
“Report! We’ve located the Flying Tiger Team’s signal!”
Another intelligence officer hurried over. Lu Qian and Luo Yaocheng exchanged a glance, and then both headed back to the command room with clear relief.
“Is that Guan Hu?”
“Report, this is Guan Hu!”
His voice sounded tired, but strong enough to suggest he was out of danger.
“Where are you now?”
Guan Hu quickly gave a coordinate. The nearby intelligence officer immediately searched it through radar, and soon confirmed their position.
“Send the rescue helicopter to bring them back!”
Less than twenty minutes later, Lu Qian and Luo Yaocheng saw the exhausted members of the Flying Tiger Team on the deck, along with three cold, lifeless bodies.
The mist thickened.
The massive silver-gray silhouette of the Jiangzhou gradually faded into the fog, and before long it was gone from sight. Waves rolled over the sea in layers, soon smoothing the surface flat again, as if nothing had ever happened.
“Report!”
“Come in!”
The door opened, and in stepped a tall, sturdy man. His features were as sharply cut as if carved by a blade, and though his gaze was not fierce, it carried a chilling aura of slaughter. Even after all this time, Guan Hu’s nerves were still taut; he found it difficult to relax completely.
Most of all, he could not let go of the result of this mission.
“Sit down.”
Lu Qian and Luo Yaocheng sat side by side behind the command console, their expressions calm, giving no hint of what they were thinking.
“This mission was not completed, but higher command has already decided to commend you. Not for the result, but for your fearless courage. Most importantly, you protected our honor.”
Yet Guan Hu did not seem very spirited. In his view, failure was failure; there was no excuse that could make up for the mistake in his command.
“Regarding this mission, you are to forget it. Understand?”
“Yes! Understood!”
“Also, write me a detailed action report immediately.”
“Yes!”
He turned and left the meeting room.
From beginning to end, the expression on Guan Hu’s face had not changed. This left Lu Qian and Luo Yaocheng feeling somewhat sentimental, though both of them knew very well that war was war and could not be treated lightly. Guan Hu’s conduct was exactly what one would expect from a tough, passionate soldier. Whatever the angle, this man who had just turned thirty was an elite among elites.
If not for that stubborn temper of his, he probably would not still have failed to be selected for that unit.
Soon after.
Once they had received Guan Hu’s action report, Lu Qian and Luo Yaocheng did not read the details. Instead, they sent it immediately to the Special Operations Command Center.
Xiang Guofang and Hu Dayou, whose suspension had been lifted, soon reviewed the report.
Inside the operations command room, Xiang Guofang wore an expression of utter disbelief.
“Old Hu, after reading this report, what’s your view?”
With his brows tightly knit, Xiang Guofang was truly puzzled.
They basically knew the early part of the action report already. What they could not understand was what happened later. According to Guan Hu’s report, the reason they were able to break out of Misurata was that someone had helped them. As for who that was, they had no idea, and that was rather strange.
But the strangeness did not stop there.
Under normal circumstances, anyone capable of intervening on a battlefield to save people would never be simple. A single individual would be even less likely, yet Guan Hu’s report claimed that only one person had helped them.
In other words, one person had suppressed several hundred Libyan armed men?
Was that possible?
Could it really be possible?
Even Xiang Guofang and Hu Dayou frowned.
Inconceivable.
“Old Xiang, do you think this person could be him?”
Hu Dayou fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking.
“You mean... Li Changjiang?”
Seeing his old partner actually nod, Xiang Guofang was instantly shocked, but this time he did not deny it again. Instead, he sank into deep thought.
If the intelligence they had gathered earlier about Li Changjiang was true, then it was indeed quite possible. But could a young man who had never undergone systematic military training really suppress hundreds of Libyan armed men all by himself, using just one rifle?
Even if they were merely a group of ordinary men with guns, it would not be that simple. If even Guan Hu and the others could not break out on their own, then the Libyan fighters were only bound to be more formidable than they had imagined.
Li Changjiang alone suppressing all of them?
That sounded almost like a fairy tale.
“I have to say, I’m becoming more and more curious about this little bastard. We have to find him right away. What’s the situation in Misurata now?”
“Latest intelligence shows that the American assault team is still trapped inside Misurata, but this issue should be resolved soon. Reliable sources say the Americans have already sent in the air force for rescue.”
“Mm.”
Xiang Guofang nodded and said no more, as if lost in thought. He kept turning over those few intelligence files on Li Changjiang in his hands, but still could not make sense of them.
Too strange.
With a sudden bang, Xiang Guofang slapped the table.
“Old Hu, we must find him! There are too many secrets around this young man! Spare no cost in finding him!”
Inside Misurata.
Standing beside Elisa, Li Changjiang suddenly sneezed. Shi Junqiang gave him a strange look and did not dare speak. Damn it, the look in that young Chinese man’s eyes opposite him was terrifying, almost like a starving wolf. Even more frightening was the fact that the Libyan beauty was standing before him with such a gentle, affectionate air. So irritating.
“You’re that sniper?”
The Russian Nicolas suddenly spoke up.
Shi Junqiang’s face immediately darkened.
This was bad.
The wronged party had arrived.
When Elisa had just told him that the man he had hit earlier was one of their own, Shi Junqiang had practically wanted to die on the spot. He had finally gotten the chance to play sniper, only to cause such a huge blunder.
“All right, you Russian bear, he didn’t know you were on our side, and besides, he’s injured too. Let’s call it even.”
At that, Nicolas had no choice but to nod.
Shi Junqiang, meanwhile, looked at Li Changjiang with growing curiosity.
Who exactly was he?
How could he make even this Russian and this Libyan woman listen to him?