Chapter 45: Agony in Ecstasy!

"Good!" Qin Yuan smiled.

Rumble!

Right at that moment, He Chenguang's stomach let out an uncooperative growl, the sound ringing out loudly!

"Hungry, are you? Have some bread to tide you over first. Erniu will be back from hunting soon!" Qin Yuan retrieved some bread and ham from the vehicle and handed them to He Chenguang.

Hearing Qin Yuan's words, He Chenguang was startled and asked in surprise, "Erniu? Brother Qin Yuan! Are you talking about Li Erniu from the cooking squad?"

"That's right, do you know each other?" Qin Yuan put on an expression of utter surprise, acting as if he had no prior acquaintance with Li Erniu. After all, he couldn't blow his cover, could he?

"More than just knowing each other! Back in the recruit company, Erniu, Yanbing, and I were the best of brothers!" The moment Li Erniu was mentioned, He Chenguang instantly became deeply interested!

"So that's how it is!" Qin Yuan wore a look of sudden realization!

Just as they were speaking, footsteps sounded nearby!

With a thought, Qin Yuan activated his thermal imaging system!

Sure enough... Li Erniu was back!

A moment later, Li Erniu came running back excitedly, carrying two wild pheasants in his hands!

Seeing that He Chenguang had actually woken up, Li Erniu's face lit up with joyful surprise!

"Chenguang, you're awake?" Li Erniu looked completely incredulous! He had thought it would take He Chenguang at least several hours to regain consciousness! He never expected him to wake up so quickly.

"Erniu, it really is you!" Seeing Li Erniu, He Chenguang was likewise pleasantly surprised! He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would run into Li Erniu in an environment like this!

Reunited as brothers, both of them were immensely happy!

"Haha, were you surprised to run into me? But for now, you should get some rest while I roast a chicken for you to regain your strength!" Li Erniu smiled, immediately setting about preparing the pheasants and rebuilding the campfire!

Seeing this, He Chenguang's eyes widened in alarm. "Erniu, did you say you're going to light a fire in the jungle to roast pheasants? Isn't that voluntarily exposing our position? Put the fire out quickly, or we'll die a miserable death!"

As an experienced veteran, He Chenguang immediately thought of the terrifying consequences of starting a fire, especially in the dark jungle! Wasn't this practically courting self-destruction?

Hearing this, Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Chenguang, you don't need to worry about that! Go ahead and eat some roast meat with peace of mind; it will help you recover much faster."

"Are you really sure this is okay?" He Chenguang still looked deeply skeptical! But since these words came straight from Qin Yuan's mouth, he couldn't just ignore them.

***

Thus, beside the quiet campfire until the roast pheasant was done, He Chenguang remained jittery and full of apprehension!

However, with the roasted pheasant right in front of him, and the bread and ham having barely scratched the surface of his hunger, he could no longer worry about such things!

Picking up the pheasant, he immediately began to devour it ravenously!

Eating over half a pheasant in one breath, He Chenguang finally paused, took a sip of bottled mineral water, and flashed a satisfied smile. "Hah! That hits the spot! I never dreamed in a million years that I'd still be able to enjoy such a delicacy during a military exercise! Hahaha... It feels just like a dream!"

Hearing this, Li Erniu grinned honestly and said, "Chenguang, you're easily impressed! My skills at roasting pheasant are far inferior to Brother Yuan's. The roast pheasant Brother Yuan makes is truly a masterpiece! But, hehe, you won't be so lucky to taste it this time!"

"Oh? Brother Yuan's culinary skills are even better?" He Chenguang gave an embarrassed chuckle and resumed tearing into the meat. After completely finishing off the whole pheasant, he finally stopped with a look of pure contentment!

Having consumed two bottles of energy drink, some bread, and an entire roast pheasant, He Chenguang's spirit and physical strength were completely restored! At this moment, he was fully revitalized, operating at absolute peak condition!

"Chenguang, since you're well-fed and rested, let's get back on the road!" Qin Yuan smiled, for at that very moment, he had spotted several Blue Force soldiers a little over 700 meters away! They had stayed at this location for far too long; it was time to move on!

"Alright!" He Chenguang smiled, officially joining Qin Yuan's two-man special operations team!

At the same time, at the Blue Force command post, Chen Shanming was reporting various data from the exercise to Fan Tianlei.

After listening, Fan Tianlei couldn't help but wear a grim expression.

"Assault Team Lone Wolf B truly lives up to its reputation as a special forces trump card. The moment they struck, they successfully decapitated Battalion Commander Kang!"

"It's just a pity... in this military exercise, our Blue Force casualties are far too high! Higher than anyone could have imagined, frankly terrifying!"

Fan Tianlei lacked his usual composure! There was no helping it; the casualties suffered by the Blue Force in this exercise were simply massive! Not only had they lost two major special operations teams, but the losses even included the Thunder Assault Team, one of the three major super trump cards of Lone Wolf! Moreover, over the past two days, through some bizarre turn of events, they had lost dozens upon dozens of ordinary Blue Force soldiers!

Although the war was nearing its end, Fan Tianlei couldn't muster a shred of happiness!

There was no alternative. As time went on, this exercise was drifting further and further away from what he had envisioned, running completely counter to his expectations!

***

However...

Whenever he thought of that terrifying fellow Qin Yuan, Fan Tianlei couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth twitch into a smile!

Because... all of this was the handiwork of that very same Qin Yuan!

This truly made Fan Tianlei suffer while taking pleasure in it! Strictly speaking, he ought to be happy with such an outcome, because the immense value Qin Yuan displayed throughout this exercise was already comparable to an entire elite special operations team!

Yet, his superiors certainly wouldn't appreciate such an ending; in fact, they might fly into a towering rage...

"Sigh," Fan Tianlei let out a long, drawn-out sigh. "I've really gone and lifted a rock only to drop it on my own feet! As the saying goes, 'He who brings upon himself his own doom cannot be saved'! Cannot be saved!"

Thinking of how Qin Yuan would eventually enter Lone Wolf and become his finest subordinate, Fan Tianlei finally completely relaxed.

"Shanming, get me connected to Number One on the phone!"

Pondering for a moment, Fan Tianlei waved his hand, his expression regaining its composure. Even though he had temporarily trapped himself, he would never truly lose! Because Qin Yuan was the one behind all of this—Fan Tianlei could only comfort himself this way.

"Get connected to Number One?"

Hearing this, Chen Shanming was momentarily stunned. After a brief pause, he reacted and asked with perplexity, "Chief of Staff, we've suffered such severe losses this time! You could say these are the heaviest casualties the Blue Force has ever sustained! With results like these, do you really want to invite Number One to attend the celebration banquet?"

As Fan Tianlei's long-serving aide, Chen Shanming knew his thoughts inside and out! Inviting Number One to a celebration banquet in the wake of such a performance—wasn't that essentially slapping themselves in the face?

There was no helping it; the casualty ratio this time was simply too high, frighteningly high! Even Chen Shanming felt a burning sensation on his face out of sheer embarrassment.

"We must invite him! Of course we have to!" Fan Tianlei smiled brightly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Once this battle is won, the Iron Fist Regiment will likely face reorganization. Under such circumstances, having the old Chief come over to get together with Kang Lei and the others in advance will at least give them some peace of mind!"

"As for me? What's a little scolding? For the sake of Qin Yuan, forget being scolded; even taking a beating would be worth it!"

Fan Tianlei was remarkably open-minded about the matter, giving a grand wave of his hand to instruct Chen Shanming to notify Number One to attend the daytime celebration banquet!

"Very well, Chief of Staff! I'll contact him right away!" Left with no choice, Chen Shanming could only nod in agreement!