Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Mountain Forest Combat Exercise (Part 2) – The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse – Full Novel Website

Chapter 57: Mountain Forest Combat Exercise (Part 2)

Zhang Xiaobai zipped up his open jacket and said to the group, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go hunting.” He then stood up, slung his rifle over his shoulder, and led the way out.

The others were visibly excited. Sure, hiding was a strategic necessity, but deep down, they all craved a head-on confrontation.

After leaving the earth slope, Zhong Xu climbed to its highest point, stretched his neck to look around, and then jumped down, saying, “The two teams went in different directions.” He pointed in two directions: “First Company went this way, Second Company went that way.” He then looked at Gu Ning, instinctively waiting for her opinion.

Gu Ning pondered for a moment and then said, “Let’s take out Second Company first.”

There were three reasons.

First, Second Company had Zhai Jun, whom Gu Ning found particularly dangerous and needed to eliminate first. Second, Second Company was more inclined to ally with others, so they had to be dealt with first. Third, Gu Ning simply didn’t like Second Company after several previous encounters.

So, when given the choice between First and Second Company, Gu Ning naturally chose to take out Second Company first.

Zhang Xiaobai was the first to support Gu Ning’s opinion: “Heh, I was thinking the same thing.”

The others didn’t speak, but it was clear they agreed with Gu Ning.

Without any objections, the five of them began moving swiftly toward Second Company’s location.

The mountain wasn’t tall, and the fenced area was only about five kilometers in radius. They had to maintain speed while staying hidden. Gu Ning mimicked their crouched, fast-running movements, keeping pace in the middle of the group. Her senses were fully alert, ready to catch any movement around them.

According to Zhong Xu’s arrangement, he took the lead, followed closely by Zou Ming, with Gu Ning in the middle, Zhang Xiaobai and Zhao Jie bringing up the rear. No matter what, Gu Ning’s position in the middle was the safest in the group.

Zhang Xiaobai and Zhao Jie watched Gu Ning, who was crouched and running swiftly, effortlessly keeping up with Zou Ming. Her steps were light and steady, showing no signs of strain. Her front foot touched the ground just as her back foot lifted, agile and nimble, not even breaking a dry branch she stepped on.

Zhang Xiaobai couldn’t help but swallow hard, feeling that Gu Ning wasn’t as simple as the investigation results had suggested.

“Someone’s here!” Gu Ning suddenly whispered. Though her voice was soft, the highly concentrated soldiers immediately reacted, stopping and finding cover.

They quickly found a dense thicket of thorns and crouched down to hide.

After such a long run, their stamina was drained. Their chests rose and fell slightly as they tried to calm their breathing.

After a while, there was no movement.

“Nothing…” Zhang Xiaobai started to say, but his voice was abruptly cut off as Gu Ning covered his mouth with one hand and made a silencing gesture with the other, then pointed to the right front.

Not long after, the grass on the right rustled, and several green figures emerged.

It was Second Company.

But before the soldiers of Third Company could rejoice, their smiles froze. After Second Company emerged, First Company also appeared from the same direction. Clearly, they hadn’t fought each other but had instead teamed up to take out Third Company first. The Third Company soldiers exchanged glances, their expressions grim.

Zhang Wu from First Company rested his gun on the ground and said, “No idea where Third Company’s hiding. They must be like rabbits.”

Zhao Liang from Second Company sneered, “Third Company’s probably waiting for us to fight it out and then clean up the mess. They must be hiding in some hole by now.”

Hiding in the thicket, Third Company felt a bit embarrassed.

Zhai Jun, standing on higher ground, looked around and then came down, saying, “Even if they’re hiding in a hole, we’ll dig them out and take them down. Let’s keep searching.”

With that, they all stood up and headed in the direction Third Company had come from.

After five minutes, when they were sure the others had gone, the soldiers finally dared to breathe freely, though they kept their voices low. “Gu Ning, what now?”

Gu Ning frowned. She hadn’t expected them to move so fast. Her plan to pick them off one by one had failed, so now it was a direct confrontation. She looked at the four soldiers and said, “The Third Company commander was right. If we can’t handle them, we don’t deserve to join the Five-Star Brigade.” She stood up, looking down at them with a cold smile. “Let’s go.”

The soldiers exchanged glances, then stood up and followed Gu Ning as they chased after First and Second Company.

Because they were searching along the way, First and Second Company weren’t moving fast. They checked every possible hiding spot, making it feel like they were Japanese soldiers searching the mountains. Their slow pace gave Gu Ning’s group time to catch up. Ten minutes later, Gu Ning and her team spotted them.

They hid again.

The soldiers instinctively looked to Gu Ning for her next move, completely forgetting their earlier concerns about her lack of combat experience.

Gu Ning peered through the grass at the impatient soldiers of First and Second Company searching for them. Her mind raced, and suddenly, her gaze landed on Zhao Jie, who felt a chill. Gu Ning signaled them to gather close and whispered a plan. Their expressions changed.

Zhao Jie volunteered, “I’ll do it. I said when we entered the mountain, there are five of us, and someone has to sacrifice. Might as well make my sacrifice meaningful.” He looked at Gu Ning and said, “Gu Ning, I leave the other three to you.”

Gu Ning nodded solemnly. “We’ll win.”

Before the others could say anything, Zhao Jie slipped away from the grass, following Gu Ning’s plan.

Meanwhile, First and Second Company continued their search. A soldier from Second Company swung his rifle at a patch of grass, frustrated. “Did Third Company really dig a rabbit hole and hide? We’ve been searching for almost an hour and haven’t seen a single shadow.”

Gong Menglong, the leader of First Company, checked his watch and said, “It’s been an hour. The time limit is three hours. Maybe Third Company’s trying to force us to fight each other first and then clean up the mess.”

Zhai Jun’s expression was grim. He had been transferred here from the military academy because someone had taken his spot. He thought he had a chance, but now the Five-Star Brigade had thrown this curveball, and Gu Ning had appeared out of nowhere. If he didn’t even get a shot at the Five-Star Brigade, he wouldn’t be able to accept it.

If Third Company didn’t show up, Gong Menglong’s scenario might actually happen. They had anticipated Third Company’s plan but didn’t expect them to hide so well. They hadn’t seen a single member of Third Company since splitting up at the mountain.

Just as Zhai Jun was feeling particularly gloomy, he noticed a slight movement in the grass behind him. It was so subtle it could have been the wind, but there was no wind. Zhai Jun’s eyes met Gong Menglong’s, and they both knew—someone was there. The only people sneaking around like that had to be from Third Company.

They subtly shifted their gaze, keeping their peripheral vision locked on the spot. Sure enough, after confirming it was safe, the person in the grass began to move cautiously. Zhai Jun and Gong Menglong exchanged a glance, both certain they were thinking the same thing: don’t alert them. This person was likely sent to scout their movements and would return to the other four. Realizing they had already wasted an hour, if they didn’t seize this opportunity, Third Company’s escape skills might mean they’d never find them.

Without hesitation, Gong Menglong handed his rifle to a confused soldier from First Company and began climbing a nearby tree. His movements were swift, as if he had specialized training, and he quickly reached a height of four to five meters, tightly gripping the trunk as he focused on the figure moving cautiously through the grass.

Only when the figure disappeared behind a slope dozens of meters away did Gong Menglong slide down the tree. He addressed the bewildered soldiers, “Found their rabbit hole. Let’s go smash it!”

The soldiers, who had been growing increasingly frustrated, immediately perked up.

Gong Menglong led the way, moving with extreme caution. They wore grass rings on their heads and had even tied grass around their black, specially-made rifles. If you weren’t paying close attention, it would be hard to spot these green figures moving through the dense grass.

They were confident in their stealth skills. Zhai Jun felt a thrill, imagining the looks on Third Company’s faces when they were surrounded, especially Gu Ning’s, who always seemed so confident and composed.

Despite their caution, their training allowed them to move quickly. When they spotted the raised slope ahead, Gong Menglong signaled for them to stop and prepared to spread out for an ambush.

But just as he raised his hand, a “biu” sound rang out. Almost instantly, the tension in Gong Menglong’s mind snapped—he didn’t even have time to dodge before a puff of smoke erupted from his chest, and the small red light on his uniform began to blink.

The soldiers behind Gong Menglong were stunned, watching as smoke rose from his specially-made uniform.

Zhai Jun reacted instantly, shouting, “Ambush! Take cover!” He dove behind the nearest tree.

The soldiers scrambled for cover, but their reactions were no match for Gu Ning’s. She didn’t even need to aim—within seconds, smoke began to rise from the soldiers as they ran, signaling their elimination.

Gong Menglong cursed as he watched three of his men, including himself, get taken out without even seeing their attackers. “Damn it! We’ve been tricked!”

Zhai Jun pressed his back against the tree, feeling a cold sweat run down his spine. His heart pounded as he realized the shot had likely been meant for him, but a soldier had stepped in front of him at the last second, saving him.

He glanced at the open area where Gong Menglong and two others from First Company, along with one from Second Company, were now enveloped in smoke, clearly eliminated from the competition.

Now, only three from Second Company and one from First Company remained.

The remaining soldier from First Company, Chen Gen, was short and thin, and had been quiet the entire time, almost seeming dull. But now, hiding behind a tree with his rifle, he perfectly concealed himself.

Zhai Jun glanced at him. He had seen Chen Gen’s training scores, which were mediocre at best. He had always wondered how Chen Gen had been selected. But now, as the sole survivor from First Company, Chen Gen had proven himself.

Zhai Jun exchanged a look with the other two from Second Company, who were also shaken. Everything had happened so fast—they had been on the verge of surrounding Third Company, only to be ambushed themselves, losing half their numbers in an instant. It seemed the scout had been a decoy. Since when had Third Company become so cunning?

The situation had reached a stalemate.

After taking out several targets, Third Company fell silent.

The “dead” soldiers sat together, letting the smoke from their uniforms rise, creating a strangely solemn and desolate atmosphere. The combined smoke quickly filled the area, obscuring vision. Zhai Jun had an idea and signaled to the remaining three, including Chen Gen. He exchanged a glance with the eliminated soldier from Second Company, then quickly darted out, heading in a specific direction.

Zhang Xiaobai, hiding behind a rock, whispered to Gu Ning, “What if they don’t come out?”

Suddenly, Gu Ning hissed, “They’re coming.”

Zhang Xiaobai peeked out, but all he saw was smoke. Where were they?

At that moment, Gu Ning, relying on her sharp hearing, fired two shots into the smoke.

“Damn it!” Zou Ming’s voice rang out, followed by a puff of smoke.

“I’m out too!” Zhao Jie’s voice followed, resigned.

Third Company had lost two members in an instant. Gu Ning’s heart tightened, and she felt something was off.

Her ears caught a faint footstep approaching Zhang Xiaobai. Realizing the danger, she was about to expose herself to rescue him, but Zhong Xu was faster, rushing over to block Zhang Xiaobai. He smiled at Gu Ning, and in the next second, smoke rose from his uniform.

Gu Ning was momentarily stunned, staring at Zhong Xu and Zhang Xiaobai from behind the rock.

In such a short time, Third Company had lost Zou Ming, Zhao Jie, and Zhong Xu.

From the smoke, Gong Menglong coughed and said, “Alright, come out. There are four of you left. No need to fight anymore.”

Zhang Xiaobai looked at Gu Ning, who nodded, and they both stepped out.

Zhai Jun and Chen Gen also emerged.

With exactly four left, the eliminated soldiers, though disappointed, accepted the outcome.

Gong Menglong said, “Congratulations to the four of you.”

Zhai Jun and Chen Gen were encouraged by their comrades, and even Gu Ning and Zhang Xiaobai received praise. With the competition over, there was no reason not to be friendly.

Zhai Jun looked at Gu Ning seriously and said, “Gu Ning, you’re really impressive. I hope we can work together when we face the Five-Star Brigade.” He was extending an olive branch. Gu Ning’s performance today had proven she was more than just a sharpshooter. But Gu Ning only nodded absently, her response cold.

Just as things seemed to be wrapping up, Gu Ning suddenly frowned. “Something’s wrong.”

Zhang Xiaobai asked, confused, “What’s wrong? There are exactly four spots.”

Gu Ning’s cold gaze swept over the faces of First and Second Company. “I shot three people. Why are there still two of you left?”

Her earlier distraction had been because something felt off, and now she had figured it out.

Her icy, accusatory question made Zhai Jun stiffen imperceptibly. Chen Gen, standing behind him, glanced at Zhai Jun, his expression unreadable.

The soldiers were stunned, and a tense silence fell over the group.

Even the slower thinkers realized what Gu Ning’s question implied.

The relaxed atmosphere from moments ago instantly became tense again.