usatvline Chapter 412 Death Valley?
Chapter 412 Death Valley?
Zhong Yuemin shook his head; he knew nothing about it either.
"I don't think this female commander comes from an ordinary military unit. Besides, she doesn't even look as old as us. Haiyang and I have some family connections, plus we performed quite well in the military, so we rose through the ranks relatively quickly. Honestly, in peacetime, reaching our rank is extremely rare, if not exceptional."
But this one, as you all heard from her tone, is definitely above us in rank, and she's a woman. That's rather intriguing.
Zhang Haiyang leaned in and said in a cheeky tone:
"Could it be that she comes from a powerful family, or... she rose to her position through her looks?"
Zhong Yuemin shook his head again, then waved his hand.
"Forget it, who cares about her background? It's none of our business. If they don't want me here, I'll go back to my own unit."
After a day of rest, the special forces selection process concluded. Besides their team, which had arrived early, two other teams arrived just in time. In a way, they benefited from this, as the main raiding squad focused their efforts on them, allowing the other two teams to gain an advantage.
The selection process, which originally involved fifty or sixty people, ultimately narrowed down to fifteen. After the selection, the group left the Gobi Desert and rested temporarily in a nearby town.
The room was filled with an atmosphere of boredom. Three consecutive days of "free-range" training had left these elite soldiers, who had just survived a life-or-death ordeal, feeling somewhat lost and disoriented.
Zhang Haiyang lay on the bed, his hands behind his head, legs crossed.
"Damn it, what kind of situation is this? They were trying to kill us in the Gobi Desert from the very beginning!"
Wolf packs, sandstorms, encirclements... they used every ruthless tactic imaginable, and now we've finally made it through.
Hey!
They dumped us in this small town like a sack of potatoes. It's been three days and we haven't seen a soul in sight. We've been fed and drunk to our hearts' content, but nobody's even bothered to fart. They're completely irresponsible!
"Yuemin, you mean that woman... no, that female leader, what exactly is she trying to do? I get the feeling she's even less reliable than us."
At this moment, Zhong Yuemin was reclining on another bed, his posture even more relaxed than Zhang Haiyang's. He was toying with an empty military water bottle in his hand, his fingers tapping the bottle occasionally, making a soft "knock-knock" sound.
Hearing Zhang Haiyang's complaint, he didn't even lift his eyelids, and slowly opened his mouth:
"Haiyang, I'm telling you, you're such a jerk. You were cursing people when they were messing with you, but now that we're feeding you and letting you be a big shot for a few days, you're all uncomfortable and complaining that they're unreliable?"
"Why ask so many questions? If the sky falls, someone taller will hold it up. Now we have food and drink, and someone to take care of logistics. We don't need to train or do drills. We can just lie around and fatten up every day. Isn't that good? What? You haven't been tortured enough in the Gobi Desert? You want to go through another hellish selection process? To relive the feeling of being chased and bitten by wolves?"
Zhang Haiyang reluctantly put his legs down, muttering something.
"I'm just... I'm just feeling uneasy. What's going on here? We passed the selection, but they didn't give us an explanation or arrange the next steps. They're just leaving us hanging here, like... those young ladies who went into the palace waiting for the emperor to choose them. It's so frustrating!"
This metaphor amused everyone else in the room.
"A concubine?"
Zhong Yuemin shouted.
"Haiyang, you're quite good at flattering yourself. If you ask me, this is the calm before the storm. The quieter things are from above, the more complicated the work we're about to face. We're letting you eat, drink, and sleep well now so you can conserve your energy. Don't let the real challenge come and you be the one with diarrhea first."
"Just wait, maybe a mission will come soon!"
As if in response, a knock came at the door, and the person who entered was Staff Officer Zhang, whom he had met at the command post before.
"Comrade Zhong Yuemin, please come with me for a moment. The commander wants to see you alone."
The atmosphere in the room instantly became subtle. Zhang Haiyang and the others exchanged glances, their expressions conveying a sense of "I knew it."
Zhong Yuemin didn't seem surprised. He stood up, patted his backside, gave Zhang Haiyang and the others a look that said, "Don't be impatient, don't make wild guesses," and then followed the newcomer out of the room.
The door closed gently. Looking at the shut door, Zhang Haiyang couldn't help but mutter another word:
"Damn it, a private meeting, guys, you see? I told you so... It looks like Yuemin's 'brand' is about to be 'recalled'."
Zhong Yuemin followed Staff Officer Zhang into the next room, where there were six people. Apart from the pretty female officer, the others were all middle-aged men in military uniforms.
Staff Officer Zhang quickly stepped forward, his back ramrod straight, and introduced everyone to Zhong Yuemin one by one.
Good heavens, they're all top leaders from the Northwest Military Region. The highest-ranking one is a deputy commander, and the lowest-ranking one is a deputy division commander.
Zhong Yuemin dared not be negligent. He immediately snapped to attention, saluted each of them, and greeted them with "Greetings, Commander!" while his mind raced.
With such a grand display, what important matter could it be?
The deputy commander came up and sized him up with piercing eyes.
"Comrade Zhong Yuemin, you are a combat hero who made great contributions in the counterattack against Vietnam. In this special forces selection, your performance was also outstanding. We have all seen it. Your skills, courage, and ability to adapt to the situation are all first-class."
He paused, his tone becoming more serious:
"Time is of the essence and the task is heavy, so I won't beat around the bush with you. You're a smart person, so let's get straight to the point."
“Yes, sir! Please speak!” Zhong Yuemin replied, straightening his back.
"The incident occurred about six months ago. A joint scientific expedition team from abroad received approval to enter the depths of our Kunlun Mountains, specifically in an area called 'Lenggeler Canyon' on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau."
"This research team is quite large, with dozens of people. According to the original plan, their research period is about a week. In the first few days after entering the canyon, they were able to maintain intermittent contact with the outside world through the wireless equipment they carried, reporting some routine information."
But on the third day, the communication signal suddenly dropped completely, and there was no response no matter how many times we called!
"When the day came for them to withdraw from the canyon and return to the base, not a single person was seen. This scientific expedition team simply disappeared mysteriously in the vast Kunlun Mountains."
"The scientific expedition team has lost contact, and there are about a dozen foreign experts among them. Given my country's international situation, this is no ordinary matter."
The local government took the matter very seriously and immediately organized a skilled search and rescue team to search the Lingele Canyon. Three or four groups of people were sent in in total… But then, something strange happened…”
His voice carried an air of disbelief and deep worry:
"Without exception, all the search and rescue teams that went in followed in the footsteps of the scientific expedition team. Not a single one of them came out alive. They didn't send out any distress signals. They disappeared without a trace, as if... as if that canyon could devour people!"
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