The white snow on the slope perfectly covered the three of them, showing no signs of disturbance; this was the result of them staying still for two days and nights. Through the binoculars, Shen Jingwei could not confirm if their commanders were inside. If not, it’s a small loss, but if all three went down, it would be disastrous, and they would lose face big time.
"Bear, everyone be quiet, listen to me. Third is the only child in his family, and since they dared to send him here, they have high hopes for him. No matter what, this exercise will affect our futures to some extent. I don’t mind, but you can’t afford that. Holding on a bit longer would be more beneficial for you, making your future path less risky. Listen to me this time, next time you can call the shots."
Inside the snow cave, a young man rubbed his somewhat dry and red eyes, this was Third, a spirited young lad. Among the three of them, without considering age but only combat power, he was the youngest, hence everyone called him Third. "Brother Wei, you’re not that old, so stop with these melodramatic speeches. I’ve read plenty of Qiong Yao’s novels, be careful, or I might get emotional and pledge myself to you, and you can’t refuse me then."
"I definitely will. Right now, ducks are more valuable than chickens, selling you to Thailand can recover some costs."
Inside the snow cave, Third raised a middle finger.
"Alright, I’ll start moving..."
Mid-sentence, a unique sound made all three of them feel an immense pressure, the sound came nearer, resembling the roar of a giant beast.
A WZ-13 from the southwest direction landed in front of that headquarters, then a few people alighted and after some greetings at the door, they moved into the tent. The Army is impressive; not a single snowflake remained on the hundred-meter radius helipad.
Shen Jingwei’s eyes widened at the sight of the crisp wool uniforms. Beside him, Third couldn’t help but exclaim, "Damn, we’ve caught a nest of big shots, after we return, the platoon leader has to treat us to drinks."
Who were those coming out of the helicopter? Shen Jingwei couldn’t see clearly, but judging by their neat woolen uniforms, they must be big shots. This surprised Shen Jingwei somewhat; how could they make such low-level mistakes?
History of warfare had many precedents; except for the rear, people on the frontline usually wore the same clothes, even if you were a General, you had to dress like an ordinary soldier, not out of respect for military equality, but for safety. Every side had its snipers, lurking for days or nights just to take a big shot, no one would waste bullets on ordinary soldiers. Besides wearing similar clothes, after officers go to the field, they shouldn’t be followed by many soldiers or retainers, and subordinates shouldn’t salute their superiors, as these could lead an excellent officer to an untimely death.
Gu Canghai often discussed these battlefield taboos with Shen Jingwei, so he knew that if someone in distinguished clothes appeared on the battlefield, they must be a big shot.
Shen Jingwei tried moving his body slightly; thankfully, it wasn’t frozen stiff, all thanks to the arched snow cave.
This type of snow cave was taught to him by Ye Tian. In the snowfields of the northeast, snow could accumulate over thirty centimeters, even exceeding a meter deep. In such conditions, it was impossible without some preparations. The arch-shaped snow cave not only concealed the body but was crucial as it allowed the snowfall in the sky to cover uniformly, keeping it consistent with other snow layers. Not only did it preserve body heat, but it also effectively camoflaged the target. The snow’s monotonous white was too conspicuous, any slight exposure could invite relentless bombardments. Moreover, due to the extremely low temperatures, lurking in such conditions was a severe torment to the body; it couldn’t just be endured with strong will alone, a little trick was essential. During initial survival training, Shen Jingwei often performed sniping tasks alone, genuinely lying in a snow cave, yet nothing happened all day, and no one knew how he managed it. Even old soldiers who had been enlisted for years couldn’t lie in the snow for a day, let alone newly transferred recruits. But Shen Jingwei stood unscathed before everyone, with that stubborn look in his eyes, and few underestimated him after that.
As people from the helicopter entered the tent, a gust of white hot air drifted out, suggesting that there was heating inside. That’s expected; if commanders had to command in the frost and snow like ordinary soldiers, they would just freeze to death.
A line of guards stood neatly outside the tent door, and Shen Jingwei also noticed that the surrounding security forces had been strengthened instantly after the helicopter landed, at least doubling the lurking sentries nearby, the closest person was only fifty meters away, a slight move would get noticed.
"Brother Wei, let me go instead," Bear whispered, moving his body slightly.
"Stay still! Move again, and I’ll disable you."
Shen Jingwei hissed, Bear immediately fell silent, and the slight movement he had also stilled in the snow.
"How did... how did this kid pull that off!"
Generals sitting in the command center were all widening their eyes, watching Shen Jingwei’s smooth movements on the screen. Although their faces were still restrained and calm, inside they were already overwhelmed by a huge wave.
Shen Jingwei held a dagger, a hard rubber simulation dagger. From above, him donned in white camouflage looked like a giant white spider, rapidly crawling through the snow, reaching the lurking sentry in a blink, it was only when the knife reached his neck did he realize he had been ambushed without any prior notice, his vision blackened as he collapsed into the snow.
"This little rascal, truly not easy to handle."
An old general, who was previously glued to the screen, now put on a smile, as on the screen Shen Jingwei was undressing the sentry to wear his clothes himself, not even sparing the white mask or the shoes, even contemplating stripping down the socks, but eventually spared him possibly due to their ugliness. Dressed like a Red Army, Shen Jingwei stealthily sneaked around from the side.