Chapter 170: The Second Squad?
“You mean there’s more than just the Gale Squad as a special operations team on the training ground?” Xiao Zhuang said.
“No way, is Gao Zhong Dui making such a big deal out of this? We’re just rookies fresh out of the nest, no need to beat us to death…”
Chang Ning and Geng Jihui hadn’t said anything yet, but Ostrich was the first to pull a long face and start complaining nonstop, just short of throwing down his tools and quitting on the spot.
Of course, Ostrich was just expressing his inner dissatisfaction with Gao Zhong Dui this way; he wouldn’t dare actually throw down his tools.
“Say less, save your stamina. And I didn’t say there’s a second special operations team, though it doesn’t rule out the possibility you mentioned, but based on my understanding of Gao Zhong Dui, the chance of him doing that is very small.
Anyway, let’s be cautious. Who wins and who loses is still uncertain.”
Chang Ning really hadn’t noticed in the original plot that Ostrich actually had such a chatty side; it was quite annoying.
After all, they were comrades who lived and died together, so he wouldn’t give Ostrich a black face.
“Then until we confirm the situation, we’ll assume that besides Gale, there are other people on the training ground now.”
Geng Jihui finally made the decision to treat this matter cautiously. No matter the situation, prepare for the worst to avoid being caught off guard, not afraid of sudden ambushes.
After analyzing the clear footprints on the ground, everyone resumed their journey.
Unlike the previous relaxation, the footprints discovered by Chang Ning cast a thick shadow over everyone’s hearts at this moment.
Because of Chang Ning’s earlier discovery, their travel speed didn’t slow down at all; instead, they diverted part of their attention to observing the surroundings.
What was puzzling was that they were almost at the destination, yet they found no more useful clues, which seemed very eerie.
Logically, someone careless enough to leave such an obvious footprint would surely leave other clues, but the problem was that Chang Ning and the others found nothing along the way.
“Something’s off!”
Geng Jihui called a halt to the traveling group; that suddenly discovered footprint kept replaying in his mind.
“What’s wrong?”
Chang Ning, who had been maintaining a hundred-meter distance from the others, noticed his teammates behind him had stopped advancing and thought there was some major discovery, so he hurried to Geng Jihui to ask.
“Don’t you all feel that ever since we entered the forest, there’s been a weird atmosphere lingering around us.”
The group, who originally felt nothing, became tense from Geng Jihui’s words, their scalps tingling and goosebumps rising.
“Forest Wolf, don’t scare yourself. What are you being all superstitious for? Disrupting morale is a big taboo!”
Chang Ning was very dissatisfied with Geng Jihui in this state; it fell short of his normal command level.
“Haven’t you all noticed that since we found that footprint, there have been no other discoveries?”
Geng Jihui said.
“That footprint might just be an accident; maybe they later noticed their own slip-up and covered the subsequent traces.”
Chang Ning retorted. He didn’t agree with Geng Jihui being so obsessive. No matter what was off, being careful on our side could evade most of the enemy’s traps.
Besides, no matter how careful, they’d still have to fight in the end; no need to waste mental energy during travel like this.
They were almost approaching the training ground now; if the Gale Squad wanted to screw them over, they would’ve started the moment they entered the forest.
“Yeah, I’d say you’re being overly cautious.”
Ostrich also agreed with Chang Ning’s viewpoint. He hadn’t slacked off along the way. Every time he saw a suitable sniper position, he’d observe it a few extra glances, afraid someone would suddenly pop out and ambush them.
Facts proved that the forest was just a bit quiet, nothing off otherwise; very safe.
At least he hadn’t spotted any Gale snipers around, and there were too many obstacles in the jungle blocking shooting lines of sight, making it unsuitable for snipers at all.
For a sniper to carry out a sniper kill in this environment, they had to find a sniper position close to the target, which was why Ostrich had the chance to observe if there were any Gale snipers active nearby.
Normally, the distance between a sniper position and the sniper target was very far, generally determined by the firearm’s maximum effective range.
Good snipers like Ostrich could consider anywhere within shooting range as his sniper position.
Overly cautious? Perhaps.
As for that strange feeling, Geng Jihui couldn’t explain it either. Seeing that his teammates didn’t feel the same, he chalked it up to him being too nervous.
It was really because this confrontation exercise was too important; Wolf Fang was the place where his father had worked before he passed, so he didn’t want Wolf Fang to suffer losses because of him.
If Chang Ning knew what Geng Jihui was thinking, he’d definitely curse him for meddling in things that weren’t his business!
What position bears what responsibility; one’s buttocks determine one’s thoughts.
A mere seven-man team’s team leader worrying about Captain He Zhijun’s affairs—what was that if not being idle?
With Geng Jihui’s current level, the information he had wasn’t complete at all; thinking so much was purely a waste of effort. Wolf Fang’s future wasn’t his to manage at this stage.
The team’s team leader was Geng Jihui; his every move had a huge impact on Lone Wolf B Group, but Chang Ning didn’t plan to comfort him, believing Geng Jihui would adjust.
By the standard of treating the exercise as actual combat, they were now on the battlefield. Everyone had their own duties; who had time to help Geng Jihui with his personal issues?
If helping Geng Jihui caused a gap in the team’s defense that the enemy exploited to catch them off guard and wipe them out, no one present could bear that responsibility.
Right now, Chang Ning could only pat Geng Jihui’s shoulder, signaling that the brothers were all there, but he couldn’t offer more help.
After all, he didn’t know exactly what was on Geng Jihui’s mind; such heavy thoughts leading to unstable state could only be overcome by himself.
The one who tied the bell must untie it; maybe the next second Geng Jihui would recover on his own.
“Let’s keep moving. I’m sorry for making everyone worry because of my own issues.”
Suppressing that weird feeling in his heart, Geng Jihui attributed his state to overvaluing this confrontation exercise, failing to stay calm, and being overly cautious.
He looked at Chang Ning, feeling a surge of relief. Good thing Chang Ning reminded him in time, or who knows how much time it would’ve wasted.
“What are you saying? You’re being polite.”
Chang Ning lightly punched Geng Jihui’s chest; he was happy that Geng Jihui could adjust himself so quickly. The others in B Group saw this and beamed with joy; with the captain’s state stable, their combat power wouldn’t be affected, if not improved.
