Chapter 152: In The Cabin
“No way, Chang Ning, are you really going to parachute jump now!”
As soon as Qiang Zi returned to the dormitory, he saw Chang Ning tidying his parachute pack and immediately sat next to Chang Ning to ask.
He just couldn’t understand it. Ma Da’s suggestion clearly meant they were going to risk their lives. Didn’t Chang Ning react quite intensely earlier? How could his attitude change so much in a blink of an eye?
“What else? Can we avoid it?
I know what you want to say. Since we joined Wolf Fang, to put it bluntly, who can guarantee they’ll definitely return alive on every mission?
In fact, we’ve already lost almost half our lives.”
After tidying his parachute pack, Chang Ning slung it over his back and ran towards the hangar.
Qiang Zi was left sitting on the chair in a daze, deep in thought.
With Chang Ning taking the lead, the soldiers of Group B had no choice but to follow.
Checking their parachute packs for the last time, everyone was exceptionally serious. After all, it concerned their own lives; not being careful could truly lead to death.
Ten minutes later, Chang Ning and everyone in Group B, carrying their respective parachute packs, stood before Ma Da.
“Very good, I won’t say any more. These are all old topics; I’m sure you’ve heard them so much your ears are calloused.”
With that said, Ma Da turned, grabbed the handle of the airplane cabin door, and pulled hard. With a “whoosh,” the heavy cabin door was opened by him.
Everyone boarded the plane in order.
After everyone was seated, Ma Da forcefully patted the cabin wall near the cockpit, signaling Flying Wolf that it was time to take off.
“Rumble~”
Accompanied by the loud noise of the helicopter’s propeller, the helicopter slowly ascended under the effect of lift.
A strong sense of weightlessness gradually took over Chang Ning’s senses. Under the psychological effect, saliva in his mouth kept secreting, and his eyelids twitched non-stop.
They say the left eye twitching means wealth, and the right eye twitching means disaster. So what does it mean when both eyelids twitch?
Regardless of any omen, Chang Ning felt very unwell right now.
His old acrophobia had flared up again, and this time the feeling was particularly intense.
Although after a large amount of targeted training, Chang Ning’s acrophobia had eased considerably, and the military doctor said he could perform parachute jumps.
But judging by the current situation, he clearly hadn’t fully recovered. He could parachute jump, but the fear remained; the two were not mutually exclusive.
Chang Ning had no good solution for this; he could only overcome it himself through extensive parachute jump training.
He couldn’t keep holding everyone back. Even if his comrades didn’t say anything, he himself would feel ashamed.
Xiao Zhuang, Qiang Zi, Lao Pao, and Geng Jihui also experienced varying degrees of dizziness, just not as intense as Chang Ning’s.
Chang Ning discreetly observed the reactions of the four, noticing they were all very nervous. Some pursed their lips tightly, while others firmly gripped their parachute pack straps.
Among the group of parachute jump rookies, the only two exceptions were Ostrich and the Medic.
Ostrich, also known by the nickname Paratrooper, was as relaxed and at ease as if he were at home once on the plane, showing no pressure at all.
While the Medic wasn’t as extreme as Ostrich, he was still much better off than Chang Ning and the others.
So far, the Medic showed no signs of nervousness; instead, he seemed very excited.
He grinned and looked around the cabin as if there were bugs on his backside.
“Medic, why aren’t you nervous?”
Ostrich, somewhat disappointed that the Medic’s demeanor wasn’t what he expected, couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked.
“Heh heh, I was in the Marine Corps before coming to Wolf Fang,” the Medic replied with a simple smile at Ostrich, a spark of intelligence in his eyes, as he guessed Ostrich’s intention.
“I know you were in the Marine Corps, but aren’t you a military doctor? Did you also come on the plane?”
Ostrich thought of the Medic as one of those doctors in the Military Region General Hospital, assuming that during his time in the navy, the Medic’s days consisted of routine training and some office work.
“Who says military doctors can’t get on planes? I was a field medic in the Marine Corps, and my work was similar to what I do now.
Although I haven’t done parachute jumps, I’ve done a lot of rappelling.”
Seeing that the Medic wasn’t nervous, Ostrich lost interest in watching him.
Based on past experiences of sparring with the Medic, he knew he couldn’t gain any advantage, so it was better not to engage with him from the start.
With that thought, Ostrich closed his eyes to rest.
Chang Ning, as an outsider, observed the performances of these two “clowns” within the group and felt his fear of heights lessen considerably.
In fact, Chang Ning knew himself that this parachute jump wouldn’t have much difficulty in terms of altitude or technicality.
Except for Ostrich, all of them were jumping for the first time. It was obvious to anyone that Ma Da wouldn’t make it excessively difficult for them.
Boarding the plane for a jump after only three days of training was already extraordinary. If the difficulty were increased further, it wouldn’t be training but murder.
At an altitude of 2,500 meters, with fixed parachute deployment. This level of difficulty for a parachute jump is the most basic and least difficult in professional airborne training.
Compared to grenade throwing training, it’s equivalent to a newcomer throwing a real hand grenade for the first time, with a veteran watching nearby.
If compared to shooting training, it would be like prone shooting with support at a fixed target.
As Flying Wolf piloted the helicopter higher and higher, Gao Zhong Dui, who hadn’t been seen for three days, was driving with the remaining members of Group A towards the designated landing zone. They were responsible for ground guidance for Chang Ning and Group B, as well as essential medical support.
Discovering that his fear lessened significantly when he distracted himself, Chang Ning extended his “claws” to Qiang Zi, who was sitting beside him.
“Qiang Zi, don’t shake your leg, it’s not that exaggerated, is it?”
The leg of Qiang Zi, being teased by Chang Ning, was shaking at a very high frequency, like it was operating a sewing machine.
“Do you think I want to? I can’t control it.”
The highest level of deception is deceiving oneself, but Qiang Zi couldn’t even deceive himself now, so how could he make others believe his lies?
Therefore, Qiang Zi felt no embarrassment and openly admitted he was a little scared.
He had no confidence for his first parachute jump; he wouldn’t even believe himself if he said he wasn’t scared.
“You’re making too much of a fuss.”
Hearing Chang Ning’s words, Xiao Zhuang first looked down at Qiang Zi’s shaking leg, then said in a playful tone.
“You’re not making a fuss, but I won’t let my mouth suffer.”
Faced with Xiao Zhuang’s teasing, Qiang Zi immediately retorted.
It was clear that Qiang Zi had noticed Xiao Zhuang’s subconscious habit of biting his lips due to nervousness.
The cabin wasn’t spacious to begin with, and everyone was very close to each other. Any little movement could be seen.
Everyone could see each other’s nervousness. It was originally a situation where the pot shouldn’t call the kettle black, but Chang Ning broke that mold.
The tense atmosphere in the cabin dissipated considerably with their mutual revealing of each other’s habits.
Happy times are always short. The helicopter’s ascent speed gradually decreased, and everyone knew the critical moment had arrived.
Today’s chapter, good night everyone.
