Chapter 21: A Shift in Identity

"Old Feng, you have to admit, these recruits really know how to hide. We've been walking for ages, and we haven't seen a single one!"

"We've already captured nearly seventy recruits on the road. There weren't many who ran into the mountains to begin with, so it's normal not to run into them."

"True, but weren't these brats acting all smug during dinner? I'd like to see if they can still manage a smile now."

"We've deployed two battalions to surround them. Even if these recruits grew wings, they wouldn't be able to escape!"

"Let's just do our jobs. Maybe we'll get a few hours of sleep by tomorrow morning."

Following Jiang Chong's guidance, Qi Tian led a group of recruits along a narrow, secluded trail rarely used by the veterans, setting an ambush in advance.

At this moment, three veterans were walking slowly, chatting while scouting the surroundings. Perhaps due to their absolute superiority in numbers and equipment, the three veterans were not fully focused as they probed the area. This led to them failing to notice Qi Tian and Zhang Meng, who were hidden on top of a giant boulder, as they approached its base.

"Move!"

As the three veterans entered their striking range, Qi Tian let out a sudden, explosive shout! At the same time, he lunged forward, tackling one of the veterans to the ground. Zhang Meng charged toward another.

The four of them tumbled and wrestled into a chaotic heap, leaving the remaining veteran completely stunned. Because they were constantly rolling, even though he raised his rifle, he dared not pull the trigger. In a situation of total dominance, accidentally hitting his own men would be a massive embarrassment.

"These little bastards, daring to fight back against veterans? Watch how I deal with you!"

Seeing Qi Tian and his companion’s movements slowing down, the last remaining veteran finally raised his rifle to aim, waiting for the right moment to eliminate Qi Tian.

Just then, Jiang Chong, who had been waiting in the shadows, lunged forward. He slammed his shoulder hard into the veteran's stomach. The terrifying force, combined with the momentum of his sprint, knocked the veteran flat on his back.

Song Wei, who had been ready as well, struck like lightning. He picked up the training rifle the veteran had dropped and pulled the trigger on his abdomen without hesitation!

"Bang!"

Following the gunshot, the veteran tackled by Jiang Chong was declared eliminated on the spot.

At that moment, the remaining thirty-plus recruits emerged from the shadows. They moved in coordination, helping Qi Tian and Zhang Meng eliminate the other two veterans while completely stripping them of their weapons.

"Are you bastards crazy? You dare to resist?!"

"If you've got guts, fight us one-on-one! Stop playing these dirty tricks. If I don't beat you into submission, my six years in the military have been a waste!"

The two hot-headed veterans, unable to contain their fury, roared at Qi Tian and his group. But Qi Tian had no intention of wasting breath on them. After looting everything of value from the three—even stripping them of their outer jackets—he quickly led his men away, fleeing in the opposite direction.

Before leaving, Zhang Meng noticed the radio on the belt of the highest-ranking veteran and stepped forward to warn him:

"Old soldier, you're dead. Don't violate the rules of the game. If you want revenge, I'll be happy to spar with you after the exercise."

With that, Zhang Meng caught up with the main group, using the cover of night to vanish into the distance.

"It's over. Once the game is finished, the three of us are definitely going to get a beating!"

The most arrogant veteran, seeing that the situation was beyond saving, sat on the ground, his face full of indignation. His two comrades, looking equally miserable, chimed in:

"It doesn't matter for us, but the other brothers... now that these recruits have weapons, they're going to have a hard time."

"This year's batch of recruits is truly demonic. They earned a third-class merit during the day, and now they're actually arm-wrestling with us veterans at night. If I'm not mistaken, the one leading them is the one who got the merit—Qi Tian!"

"What the hell is this kid trying to do? Is he planning to tear through the sky of our Iron Fist Regiment? I've been here for eight years, and this is the first time I've met such formidable recruits. I'm truly impressed."

...

A few minutes later, the radio on the veteran's belt crackled with the voice of the First Battalion Commander:

"Hello, hello? This is First Battalion Command. Old Feng, Old Feng, what's the situation on your end?"

The three of them offered a bitter smile, lay down on the ground, and offered no response. Dead men must have the awareness of the dead!

At the base of the mountain, the First Battalion Commander, seeing no response from the trio on channel 186, grew suspicious.

"What's going on? Is the radio malfunctioning? Why is there no sound from Old Feng and the others?"

"I'm fine on my end. Don't worry, I'll send my men to check on them," the Second Battalion Commander offered, contacting his own team to move toward the position of Old Feng's group.

He did not know, however, that the squad he had sent up the mountain had also fallen into an ambush by Qi Tian's group. And this time, their defeat was even more thorough!

In a clearing eight hundred meters from where Old Feng and his men had "died," seven veterans were sitting on the ground, staring at the forty recruits in front of them with extreme resentment. Among them was the squad leader of the second recruit platoon.

Two minutes earlier, they had encountered three people wearing old-style camouflage training uniforms who claimed to have spotted some recruits and asked for help. It was pitch black, and with their faces covered in camouflage paint, the squad leader hadn't recognized them and followed them to the clearing without a second thought.

As soon as the seven stood still, before the squad leader could even ask a question, the three who had led them there dropped to the ground. In the next second, three dark rifle barrels emerged from the shadows, firing indiscriminately at chest height across the clearing.

True, these recruits' marksmanship couldn't compare to the veterans'. But one side was in the light while the other was in the dark, and Qi Tian's group had no intention of conserving ammunition. After a round of gunfire, the three recruits were unharmed, but the veterans were all hit and declared eliminated!

One unfortunate soul even ended up with a mouthful of red training powder from a round fired directly into his mouth.

"Dressed in our uniforms, disguised as our own men, and tricking us into an ambush... Qi Tian, Zhang Meng, you two are ruthless!"

Although the squad leader’s tone was filled with displeasure, the expression on his face was one of extreme satisfaction. Being able to secure three weapons meant they weren't the first group of veterans these recruits had wiped out. To achieve this in such a short time meant this year's batch of recruits had truly exceeded everyone's expectations.

"Squad leader, don't blame us. The brothers didn't want to admit defeat, so we had to use this method to trick you," Zhang Meng said with a grin, holding out his hands to the squad leader. "We don't need your uniforms; they're covered in powder and useless. Just hand over your ammo and weapons to resupply the brothers. The more veterans we take out, the lighter your punishment will be tomorrow, right? As the saying goes, the law doesn't punish the masses!"

"Give it to him, give it to him!" The squad leader glared at Zhang Meng irritably, voluntarily handing over his training rifle and all his supplies. The other six veterans followed suit. A bet is a bet; being eliminated means accepting the "corpse-looting" process—it's the rules!

After this ambush, the recruits led by Qi Tian had seized ten training rifles and nearly a hundred rounds of training ammunition. They, who were considered easy prey just an hour ago, had truly become a force to be reckoned with!

Most importantly, their ambush was far from over. Qi Tian's goal was no longer just playing a game of cat-and-mouse with thirty people. He wanted to achieve a subversive victory, the likes of which the Iron Fist Regiment had never seen before!

Watching the silhouettes of the forty recruits disappear into the distance, a second lieutenant gave the squad leader a bitter smile:

"Old Qiu, was that kid one of your men? He looks promising—courageous and resourceful. He's destined for great things!"

"Sigh... I wish it had been Zhang Meng's plan!"

The squad leader pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one for himself, and shared them with his six brothers. "I can guarantee that the person behind this ambush, the one leading these recruits to fight back and take down our veterans, isn't Zhang Meng. He doesn't have the brains for it. It's Qi Tian, the one who just earned a third-class merit today! Only he could come up with something this outrageous. That kid is the one with true potential. I have a feeling that once the recruit training ends, he'll be sent to a much more elite unit. A talent like that won't stay in our infantry regiment, which is at the bottom of the brigade in every aspect. But I'm genuinely curious to see how far he'll go. The Sharp Knife Regiment? The Marines or the Commandos? Or perhaps... the Special Forces?!"